The Sight
by heiroffire
Summary: Caroline Grayson had a slew of plans for her 7th year at Hogwarts: keep her head down, avoid her Slytherin housemates, win the Quidditch cup, etc. Nowhere in her plan did she include getting visions of the future - and she definitely made no mention of a certain, shaggy-haired Marauder. Whether she likes it or not, her last year at Hogwarts will be anything but normal. ON HIATUS
1. Ch 1: Sparkle like a Different Girl

**Chapter 1: Sparkle like a Different Girl**

Two women—one young and one older—ran through King's Cross station, the younger one pushing a trolley with a large suitcase and cage. To Muggle passers-by, the scene was relatively odd, though not enough to cease their routine commute. The women were obviously related, possessing the same slender, pointed facial features and long dark hair. The older woman—who was clearly the mother of the younger one—also had a small child on her hip, who was sucking her thumb as she clung to her mother's neck.

The trio raced towards platform 9, pausing at a wall between 9 and 10. After a quick perfunctory inspection of those around them—no one was looking—the women passed through the wall and onto Platform 9 ¾, where parents of Hogwarts students were wishing their children farewell before they hopped on the Hogwarts Express to go to school for the year. The women let out long sighs, relieved that the train had not yet left the station.

The younger woman turned to her mother, smiling slightly. "I guess this is it—enjoy your last chance to send me off to school," she teased lightly.

Her mother's eyes clouded over with unshed tears, hiking her younger daughter higher up on her hip and tucking a dark curl behind her ear. "It seems like just yesterday I was sending you off to school for your first year, Caroline."

Caroline rolled her eyes at her mother's theatrics, though fondly. "Mum, don't start crying now, you did plenty of that in the car here."

"Yes, well, you know how I can get," her mother replied, pulling her daughter in close for a hug with her free arm.

When the two broke apart, Caroline turned to her little sister, Ellie, with a doting expression. "Do you promise to be good for Mummy and Henry?" Henry was Caroline's stepfather and Ellie's biological father, a kind Muggle professor at the University of London.

Ellie looked like she was pondering the question before shaking her head.

"No?" Caroline asked, faking shock and horror. Reaching out with nimble finger, she tickled Ellie, causing the little girl to squeal loudly.

Normally, Caroline would glance around and apologize to those around them for the commotion she'd caused, but she knew that every parent on that platform was already staring at them. _Leave it to Caroline Grayson and her blood traitor mother to attract attention wherever they go_ , she thought to herself, the smile on her face fading slightly.

Pressing a kiss to Ellie's head, she turned back to her mother. "Promise me you'll stay safe," Caroline asked beseechingly. "With You-Know-Who and all these attacks over the summer…well, I worry."

Her mother tried to fake a smile, joking, "I thought I was supposed to be the overprotective parent today." However, when Caroline didn't smile back, she added, "We'll be fine. I have the flat warded and carry my wand with me every day, now." After assimilating to Muggle lifestyle and marrying one, Caroline's mother had stopped carrying a wand with her regularly. In light of the rise of the Dark Lord, she'd become more cautious and gone back to old habits.

Caroline nodded. "Alright, well, I'd better get on before the compartments fill up." As if in agreement, her tabby cat Felix mewled loudly from his cage.

After one last goodbye, Caroline made her way over to the train with her trolley, eyes scanning the crowd for her best—and only—friend, Dorcas Meadowes. Though Caroline was sorted into Slytherin and Dorcas into Ravenclaw, they'd forged a strong friendship over their years at Hogwarts. With her mother's reputation for abandoning her pureblood life, being a Slytherin hadn't been easy for Caroline. Dorcas was the one person who seemed to understand that and sympathize with what she went through.

As if on cue, Caroline felt a pair of soft hands cover her eyes from behind and a familiar female voice muttered in her ear, "Guess who?"

"Is it…Priscilla Walderbash?" Caroline joked with a wide grin on her face.

The hands ripped away from her eyes with a loud cry as Dorcas grabbed Caroline by the shoulders and spun her around so the two friends were facing each other. "How can you compare me to that primeval toe rag?"

"Those hands felt pretty troll-like, therefore…" Caroline teased, only to receive a forceful shove from Dorcas in return; though it was obvious her friend was also fighting back a smile.

"Come on, I've already put my stuff in a compartment with the girls," Dorcas announced, leading Caroline onto the train.

"The girls" Dorcas was referring to were Lily Evans, Marlene McKinnon, and Mary MacDonald. While Dorcas may have been Caroline's only friend, these girls were part of the circle of friends that Dorcas had created while at Hogwarts. While Caroline had never felt excluded or discriminated against by the girls, she found it hard to fit in with their clique, as most of them were Gryffindors and therefore extremely suspicious of the Slytherin girl.

Fighting back a sigh, Caroline mentally prepared herself for spending the entire train ride on the outskirts socially as Dorcas led her to the compartment where the rest of the girls were waiting. She pulled open the door to reveal all three of them laughing about something that had happened to Lily over the summer—the details were never actually revealed—before they turned to enthusiastically greet Dorcas.

Their reception of Caroline was decidedly more subdued, with small smiles or head nods. Since the three of them were sitting on one side of the compartment, Caroline sat with Dorcas on the other, immediately taking all three young women in.

Lily had already changed into her school uniform with a badge indicating her newfound status as Head Girl pinned to the lapel. Her long, ginger locks were pulled back into a high ponytail, with a few stray strands framing her heart-shaped face. Her wide green eyes were sparkling with joy and laughter as she watched Mary imitate some ridiculous relative of hers.

Marlene, a Gryffindor just like Lily, was still in casual clothes, picking disinterestedly at her nails. Caroline thought rather enviously that Marlene always managed to look flawlessly beautiful at anything, including chipping away at her own maroon nail polish. She'd always wished to look more like Marlene, who possessed a sultry, dark beauty about her.

The last girl, Mary MacDonald, was in Hufflepuff and overall the most approachable of the three. She was timid and shy around most people, blushing and biting her lip instead of speaking up. However, around the girls, her true persona came out as vibrant and exuberant, often found flailing her arms about in some grand tale or laughing embarrassingly loud. Her honey blond hair was often piled up on her head in a messy bun with some sort of wild accessory to go with them—her staple being Snitch earrings.

Dorcas was the glue of this group of very different girls. Dark-skinned and curly haired, she was by far the most laid back in appearance—she often bemoaned the fact she couldn't participate in the Muggle "hippy" movement, as it fit her aesthetic perfectly. Despite this easygoing attitude, Dorcas was fiercely loyal and wicked smart, hence her Ravenclaw placement. She saw the best in people and somehow managed to read everyone like a book.

And then there was Caroline. She felt so very out of place in the small compartment, watching the lively interactions of the girls while she sat in the corner, wishing she were back in the flat in London with her mother, Henry, and Ellie. She felt rather plain appearance-wise, with flat dark hair she'd attempted to spruce up with blunt bangs (which only ended up emphasizing how pale she was in comparison to her coffee colored locks). Altogether, Caroline often wondered how she'd ended up here in the first place.

"What do you think, Care?" Dorcas piped up, derailing her train of thought.

Caroline blinked rapidly. "Sorry, I zoned out for a bit. Think about what?"

Marlene grinned in a manner eerily similar to Caroline's tabby cat. "How bloody fine the Marauders have gotten this year—barring poor little Peter, of course."

Caroline struggled with how to respond, unsure if she should simply agree with Marlene, or give her actual opinion on the matter. She was saved from making a decision by the sound of Felix meowing from his cage rather pathetically, causing all eyes to turn towards him instead of Caroline.

"You can let him out," Lily offered kindly, gesturing towards the cage.

As soon as Caroline opened the door to his cage, Felix came rushing out, moving to settle in the space between Dorcas and his owner. His potbelly stuck out as he flopped onto his side, stretching languidly and yawning. The sight made Caroline roll her eyes fondly, reaching out to stroke him gently.

"What a glutton," Dorcas cooed, running a hand over Felix's head. She then glanced up at Lily, eyes scanning over her shiny new badge. "Who's Head Boy with you this year?"

Lily shrugged. "I haven't any idea. I figured the most likely guess was Remus, but I haven't seen him yet to find out."

Of all the prefects, Caroline agreed with Lily's assessment that Remus Lupin was the most responsible. Though quiet and sometimes reserved, he did his duties well without getting too lax or too strict. He walked the fine line rather well for a member of the Marauders, the merry band of pranksters in Gryffindor. They walked around school as if they ruled it—and if you asked one of the members of their large fan club, they might agree with that assessment.

Suddenly, the door to the compartment whipped open to reveal none other than Sirius Black and James Potter, the two most popular Marauders of all. Sirius leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed over his broad chest as he casually blew an inky strand of hair out of his face. His expression was formed in his signature smirk, eyes scanning over each one of the girls.

His smile fell slightly at the sight of Caroline, hackles raised immediately when detecting a member of Slytherin. "What are you doing in a compartment like this, Grayson?" He drawled, words sharp and ready to kill. "Don't you have some Dark Arts to practice with your fellow Death Eaters?"

His taunts cut deeply into Caroline, though she'd been bothered enough by her fellow students to know how to keep a cool expression no matter what someone threw at her. Leaning back against the seat, Caroline pretended to examine her nails in a similarly disinterested manner that Marlene had earlier.

In an airy voice, Caroline replied, "Our meetings for the purpose of world domination and destruction of all that is good usually occur on Wednesdays, Black. I can get you a schedule, if it concerns you so much." When she finally looked up, her returning smirk was positively acerbic, giving back as good as she got.

James cut through the tension with the quick deflection of, "The prefect meeting is happening in a few minutes."

"Yeah, and why do you care, Potter?" Lily snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.

Sirius let out a bark of laughter. "Take a look at this pin and you'll see why," he replied, pointing to the badge shining on James's Gryffindor robes. It was the Head Boy pin, as lustrous as the one fastened in the same place on Lily's lapel.

With an incredulous gasp, Lily demanded, "How the hell did this happen? You weren't even a prefect!"

A bit of color flooded the Head Boy's cheeks as his eyes suddenly became decidedly interested in the floor. "I'm not totally sure, to be honest. Your guess is as good as mine."

Caroline was floored by the boy's response. The James Potter everyone else knew would've reveled in the opportunity to elevate his status, would shout it from the rooftops. Yet this James seemed almost…embarrassed by it, if the way he was avoiding eye contact said anything.

Feeling a pang of sympathy, Caroline pointed out, "Technically, there isn't a rule that says the Head Boy has to be a prefect beforehand. It just goes to whoever the Headmaster believes is the most deserving of that responsibility." She paused and gave James what she hoped was an encouraging smile. "Professor Dumbledore must think very highly of you. Congratulations."

James smiled back, albeit hesitantly. "Anyway, I've got to round up the rest of the prefects." With that, he and Sirius left the compartment, gone as quickly as they appeared.

Caroline turned to Dorcas. "Would you mind watching Felix for me while I'm at the meeting?" As a Slytherin prefect, Caroline was obligated to attend the meeting and listen to the Head Boy and Girl address the new prefects, lay down the law, etc. etc.

Dorcas rolled her eyes. "Of course. I doubt he'll require much attention," she said, gesturing to the way Felix was already asleep, his snores ringing out rather loudly for an animal of his size.

Chuckling, Caroline stood and glanced at Lily, whose gaze was far away. "Lily? Are you coming to the meeting?"

Shaking herself out of her stupor, Lily stood and the two girls walked over to the compartment where the meeting would be held in silence. Obviously, the shock of James becoming prefect was much more than Lily could handle, judging by the way she muttered angrily under her breath as they walked. _I'm not going to touch that situation with a ten foot pole_ , Caroline thought as they arrived.

Most of the prefects were already there when they arrived, with a rather nervous looking James standing as everyone else took a seat. Lily trudged over to where he was standing, though she made a point of not speaking to him or acknowledging his presence in any way, shape, or form. Caroline scanned the seats and saw one next to Remus Lupin, walking over slowly.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" She asked politely.

Remus nodded, flipping his ashy brown mane into his eyes as he did so. "Feel free."

The meeting was as dull as it always is—procedures and responsibilities were something that Caroline enjoyed being lectured about. James and Lily took charge rather well together, though, unintentionally in sync with both their tone and message. Caroline noticed with a slight scoff that one of the new prefects from Ravenclaw was starry-eyed as she gazed up at James, hanging on every word that left his mouth.

"It never stops, does it?" Remus muttered under his breath. Caroline looked over at him and then realized he had also noticed the Head Boy's latest fan and bit her lip to hide a smile.

She let out a faux sigh and leaned back. "Maybe if she's lucky, he might look at her once in her Hogwarts career."

"Or—even more fortunate—say her name. _Out loud_."

His words caused Caroline to let out a rather undignified yelp of laughter, getting the attention of everyone around them including their fearless leaders. Covering it up with a fake cough, Caroline cleared her throat and muttered, "Sorry. Carry on."

"Anyway," James continued, sending the pair a narrow-eyed look as he did so. "That's about it. We should be arriving soon, so continue on as you were."

As people got up to return to their compartments, Caroline followed the crowd to the door, ready to get back to her faithful companion Felix and Dorcas. The call of her name from James stopped her and she turned back, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes?"

He moved over to her and cleared his throat awkwardly, waiting until everyone had left before speaking. "I wanted to, uh, apologize. For earlier."

Eyebrows knitted together, Caroline questioned, "What do you mean?"

"Sirius. The sh—stuff he said it wasn't, you know, it wasn't…good."

Caroline fought the urge to roll her eyes at this lukewarm attempt to deal with his friend's bad attitude. "Don't worry about it, James. It's no secret that Sirius Black would rather gnaw off his own arm than be in the presence of a member of Slytherin."

James scratched the back of his head, only further ruining the mop of black hair on his head. "Still, you're pretty cool and didn't deserve to be talked to that way."

"Well, no one deserves to be spoken to that way, but it's never stopped him before, has it?" Caroline remarked bitterly. "Don't sweat it, James. I'm a big girl, I know how to handle big-mouthed assholes."


	2. Ch 2: Sun Machine is Coming Down

**Chapter 2: Sun Machine is Coming Down**

* * *

It was a time old tradition that, every year since they were 12, Caroline and Dorcas would ring in the first night at Hogwarts by stealing food from the kitchens and eating it up in the Astronomy tower. Upon discovering a secret entrance to the kitchens, the girls had utilized it frequently. The tradition sprang from Caroline's desire to be away from the narrow eyed looks and uncomfortable gazes of some of her housemates.

So, at exactly 11:00, Caroline left the dungeons and snuck over to the portrait of a bowl of fruit and waited for her friend to show up.

Disheveled and out of breath, Dorcas came rushing over to Caroline, her wild mane in even more disarray. "Sorry I'm late. The prefects lost a first year on the way to the common room, so we were on a bit of a man hunt for a while there."

Chuckling, Caroline reached up easily to brush her fingers lightly over the pear in the bowl, causing it to giggle lightly before transforming into a green doorknob. The two girls pulled the door open together with a great shove before slipping inside the kitchens. The house elves were busy at work, shuffling about the room as they cooked and cleaned. One of the elves that knew them, Pearl, came toddling over with a smile.

"Do the misses require anything of Pearl?" She squeaked, wide eyes eager for a new task.

"We would be very appreciative if you could scrounge up some sweets and pumpkin juice for us, Pearl," Caroline requested.

The house elf was off in a flash, returning just as quickly once she'd found everything the girls wanted. "Can Pearl do anything else for misses?"

"That's all. Thank you!" Dorcas said, gathering the plate of food and her own glass of pumpkin juice. Caroline waved back to Pearl one last time before following Dorcas back out of the kitchens.

The two made their way towards the tower, careful to check the corners for potential prefects or professors. It was late enough that they met little resistance and were able to creep through Hogwarts' quiet halls without any notice, save for a few cantankerous portraits.

When they were climbing the steps to the top of the tower, they stopped at the sound of soft voices followed by the distinct sound of kissing. Dorcas and Caroline exchanged an incredulous look—while the Astronomy tower was known for being a popular hookup spot, no one was ever so eager that they took advantage during their first night back. They took a few more creeping steps up and peaked over the railing to see who it was—then the previous confusion became more clear.

Sirius Black and Marlene McKinnon were locked in a passionate embrace, lips melded together as their hands roamed slowly across each other's bodies. Caroline felt a rush of heat to her cheeks, eyes immediately glancing away. Dorcas barely even batted an eye and, being friends with half of the duo, found it rather humorous to interrupt.

"Ahem!" She coughed rather loudly, making sure that each step she took was louder than the next. The couple jumped apart from each other, startled, before smiling at Dorcas sheepishly.

Caroline followed after her friend helplessly, unsure of what to say or where to look. She decided on just keeping her eyes down to the floor in what she hoped was an impassive manner.

Marlene's hooded eyes flicked between the two girls, a small smile pulling at the corner of her full lips. Brushing away a bit of smudged mauve lipstick, she quipped, "Hello, ladies. Fancy meeting you here this time of night."

Sirius, who had been buttoning up his shirt, grinned when he noticed the way Caroline refused to meet his gaze. "Look at that blush," he teased, which only made her face heat up even more. "Not very Slytherin of you, Grayson."

A flash of anger course through Caroline as she snapped, "An astronomy tower rendezvous isn't very Gryffindor of you."

"Perhaps not, but that's exactly what everyone would expect from _the_ Sirius Black," he drawled, running a hand through his annoyingly perfect hair.

 _Unfortunately_ , Caroline couldn't help but think, biting her lip.

"Well, Care and I have a tradition to carry out, so you horny bastards can go take your business elsewhere," Dorcas ordered, though her tone and smiling face indicated no ill will over walking in on the couple.

With that easygoing manner he had perfected over the years, Sirius threw his arm over Marlene's shoulders and gave the other girls a one-fingered salute as they left the tower. As they walked down the stairs, Caroline could hear the sound of Marlene's tinkling laugh drift further and further away. The entire thing made her teeth grit in frustration.

Dorcas sat down and gestured for Caroline to follow, laying the plate of food between them. The two ate in silence for a while, chewing thoughtfully as their minds meandered about. Finally, Dorcas spoke.

"Still not over that thing for Black, huh?" Her bourbon colored eyes watched her best friend carefully, tracking every minute physical change in the other girl's body as she came up with a response.

Letting out a quiet sigh, Caroline dusted her hands off and then leaned back against the wall. Her gaze moved about the room aimlessly—the goal being to look anywhere that Dorcas wasn't, so she couldn't see how true her words were. "It's just…this stupid, _stupid_ part of me refuses to forget our first year, when he stood up for me against those bullheaded Neanderthals."

During Caroline's first year, it was difficult being in Slytherin and also being known as the daughter of the pureblood witch who chose to leave that life and exist in the Muggle world. They viewed her mother as the worst of any kind of blood traitor—and that was reflected in the way Caroline was treated by her classmates. While she wasn't constantly bullied, Caroline had never felt welcome in her own house—or anywhere else in Hogwarts, for that matter.

One day, some older boys decided to really let her know what they thought of her mother. Their words weren't particularly polite—"blood traitor" was the most politically correct thing they said about Caroline and her family. Eventually, when she tried to just ignore them, they escalated to physically pushing her around.

That was when Sirius had stepped in and defended her, essentially telling them all to bugger off because they were a bunch of elitist pricks. For some reason, it worked and they left her alone for a while. Sirius hardly fixed the entire problem, but it meant a lot to little Caroline that he'd stood up for her.

Dorcas nodded understandingly. "It was good deed—although he's hardly the reason no one fucks with you now."

"No, that was me going crazy on a guy twice my size and landing him in the infirmary," Caroline sniped, rolling her eyes. "I just wish I could tell that little girl to shut the hell up, but every time I see him—it's all I think about. Even when he's a pompous ass!" A low groan rang out from her mouth as she held her head in her hands, ashamed.

The sight only made Dorcas laugh loudly, though she did smooth a comforting hand over Caroline's back as she did so. "You're hardly the first self-respecting girl to fall for Gryffindor's biggest playboy. And I doubt you'll be the last."

"I'm not an idiot, though," Caroline bemoaned, words muffled by her hands. "I logically know he's immature and selfish, that nothing about him should appeal to me, yet here I am, pissed off because I walked in on him making out with _Marlene_ of all people! Why am I such a masochist?"

At this point, her shame had caused her lay down on the floor so she was facing up towards the ceiling, arms stretched above her head.

"Of all the Marauders to fall for, Remus would be the most obvious one," Dorcas pointed out, smirking as she licked the sticky sugar from her fingertips left over by a treacle tart.

Caroline couldn't help but laugh at the thought. "If only I were so fortunate. Remus is practically perfect boyfriend material, yet he's not the one I want to simultaneously strangle and make out with."

"Kinky," Dorcas teased, cackling when her words caused Caroline to haphazardly kick at her. "Maybe he'll get better this year—become more tolerable as a human being and then you'll ride off into the sunset."

Caroline scoffed. "And maybe I'll become the Minister of Magic." Letting out a sigh, she sat up from her position on the floor and grabbed another sweet. "Change the subject, distract me from my own shame, mon amie."  
"I don't know what to say!" Dorcas said, the smile on her face fading slightly. "It's not as if the world we live in is doing very well. You-Know-Who and his followers have managed to suck the life out of everyone in the Wizarding World."

Over the summer, the attacks carried out by Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters had escalated significantly. Muggles and wizards alike were reported dead every day in the Daily Prophet, each death more gruesome than the last. The Ministry claimed to be handling it, yet there appeared to be no change. If anything, it was only getting worse. Some parents were going into hiding, taking their kids with them. Others forced their children to stay at Hogwarts all year, not confident that they could keep their children as safe at home.

"How are your parents?" Caroline asked Dorcas, shifting her body so they were shoulder to shoulder.

Dorcas shrugged. "Alright, I guess. Any muggleborn witch or wizard is terrified, of course, but they're handling about as well as anyone can with a target on their back. They don't want me to come home for Christmas, so I'm going to Marlene's." She glanced over at her friend. "What about yours? Your mum is considered to be the queen of the blood traitors, from the way your housemates went on."

"I feel like I'm more worried than she is, to be honest," Caroline grumbled, dragging her foot across the floor in some indiscernible pattern. "She seems to think she's got it all under control. But I know she does take it seriously—she'd never risk Henry or Ellie like that."

"They say Dumbledore is creating his own force to fight back—some kind of order of witches and wizards," Dorcas informed her. "I'm joining as soon as I leave school."

It was a very Gryffindor thing to do, but Caroline supposed Dorcas worried about her parents just as much as Caroline worried about her mother. While joining an order had never occurred to Caroline, the idea had some merit. At least then she'd feel like she was actually doing good and contributing in some way to keeping her family safe—even if it wasn't quite as directly as she'd planned.

"I'll have to think over it too," Caroline chimed in, shifting uncomfortably as she batted away the dark cloud hanging over her head when topics like the war came up. Turning to face Dorcas, she demanded, "So, tell me all about this new boy in your life!"

With a chuckle, the Ravenclaw girl launched in a long spiel about a boy she'd met in Madrid over the summer. The story was far too drawn out and nothing short of ridiculous, but it was able to distract them from the dark threat looming out in the real world. They spent the next few hours talking like that, up in their little oasis, before finally deciding to go back to their individual dormitories for the night.

* * *

 _The first thing that stood out to Caroline was the sharp chill in the air. Though it was too dark to see, she could feel the cold moisture creeping up her limbs and into her skin, settling deep into her bones. She took a few steps down what appeared to be a deserted street, the clicking of her heels being the only sound she could hear. Glancing around, she tried to find a marker—some sort of indicator of where she was._

 _After walking for ages, she came across a large house with a spacious yard and gravel paved driveway. She took a few cautionary steps towards the house, looking to see if the lights were on, indicating that someone was inside. Standing up on her tiptoes, Caroline swayed from side to side, peaking through every window. Finally, she saw that what appeared to be the living room had lights on, so she began walking again, moving a bit faster for fear that they might not stay there for long._

 _Her pace picked up to a light jog as she rushed up the wooden steps and rapped lightly on their dark green colored door. She paused, listening for the sound of footsteps, but Caroline heard no signal of someone coming to open the door. Finally looking over the door itself, Caroline realized there were long, jagged scratches all over it and the door wasn't actually shut because the doorknob had been broken._

 _That icy cold came creeping again, this time settling deep in her gut. Caroline knew that this wasn't right. Something was very wrong with this house and she was afraid to open the door to find out. Nonetheless, it was like an invisible force shoved her through the door and sent her tumbling inside. Caroline fell to the ground, landing on her hands and knees._

 _The wooden floorboards below her were slick and wet, Caroline realized with a jolt. With careful precision, she moved her hands up and turned them towards her, eyes widening when she saw that she'd fallen into a pool of blood. Her knees and palms were painted crimson, little rivulets of blood trickling down her forearm and shins. She gagged, fighting the urge to scream and finally looked over to the living room where the light had been on._

 _Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of bloody bodies strewn across the living room floor. There were three of them—an older man and woman as well as a boy who looked a bit older than Caroline. All of their bodies were covered in blood with bites and slashing marks all over them. Tears burned Caroline's eyes as she saw the way their faces were crumpled in fear, eyes blank and unseeing._

 _Two pairs of feet suddenly came stomping down the stairs, the low mumble of their voices revealing that they were both men. Caroline rushed to a dark corner of the room and pressed herself against the wall, praying that they didn't see her. They rounded the corner and it became infinitely clear what they were: Death Eaters. Their sleeves were rolled up so that the mark of the Dark Lord was standing out on their skin, twisted and sinister even in the low light of the house._

 _"Greyback definitely took care of these ones, didn't he?" The taller of the two men grumbled, effortlessly dodging the blood splattered across the floor. He crouched down next the body of the boy, idling turning his face with his hand._

Greyback _, Caroline thought._ How do I know that name?

 _"The Dark Lord must be slipping to enlist the help of a werewolf," the other Death Eater replied as he looked at the mess around them with an expression of disgust. "Beasts, the lot of 'em."_

 _Caroline realized with a jolt that they were referring to Fenrir Greyback, the werewolf who was known for being a supporter of You-Know-Who, as his master encouraged his taste for flesh and violence. Realizing what had truly happened to this family made her want to vomit._

 _The taller man gave his companion a warning look. "Don't question our Lord's methods. Otherwise you might end up where these bunch of mudbloods are."_

 _They appeared to be done with the scene and started moving towards the door, wands pulled out by their sides, when a high-pitched whine rang out in the air. Caroline tensed up, praying that whoever—or whatever—that was would be quiet, because Merlin only knows what would happen if these bastards found them._

 _"What was that?" The shorter man questioned, eyeing the room carefully. Again, there was a high whimper following his words._

 _The two men circled the room, casting a Lumos so that they may see better. They scanned the room and Caroline's heart began to pound inside her chest as she watched the taller man come closer and closer to her. Frozen on the spot, she could do nothing but stare as he suddenly shined the light of his wand directly in her face. He stared at her with dark eyes before suddenly turning back around and calling, "I can't find anyone."_

Can they not…see me? _Caroline wondered, taking a timid step out from her hiding place. When neither of the men reacted, she moved more confidently, watching them closely. The shorter man shined his light across the floor and suddenly shouted._

 _"I found something! There's some blood leading to the back door."_

 _The two men quickly followed the thin trail of blood, which winded down the back steps and into the yard. Caroline followed suit, secure in the though that they couldn't see her but worried about what—or who—they may find. The perfectly trimmed grass gave way underneath her feet as she trailed behind the two Death Eaters. They came to a sudden stop, circling around a dark figure lying on the ground._

 _"Well, well, what do we have here?" Leered the shorter man, shining his light on it._

 _It was a girl, the same age as Caroline, with long blond hair and wide doe eyes. She was in a similar state to that of her family—bleeding, covered in wounds—but the difference was she was still barely holding on, eyes begging for help as tears leaked out of the corners. She opened her mouth, as though to plead with them, but all that came out was a high whimper followed by a cough and more blood came out of her mouth._

 _As Caroline moved closer and got a better look at the poor girl, she realized with a horrified gasp that she knew her. The girl's name was Evelyn Blakely and she was in the same house as Caroline, just one year below. Evelyn had always seemed very nice and was popular with her peers—seeing her now, choking on her own blood and terrified made Caroline kneel down beside her to try and help._

 _Reaching out a hand, Caroline attempted to help Evelyn, maybe get her away from these men, but her hand couldn't touch her. It was as though Evelyn was nothing more than a mere mirage; every time Caroline tried to touch her, her hand just passed right through Evelyn._ What is this? _Caroline questioned, getting back up to her feet slowly._ A dream? This feels too real to be a dream.

 _"She's a pretty little thing," the short man said suggestively, taking a long moment to run his beady eyes up and down Evelyn's body._

 _His companion rolled his eyes. "Just finish the job. We've got to report back soon." With that, he turned back towards the house and left the other man behind, apparating away in a flash._

 _"Pity," grumbled the other man as he lifted his wand and aimed it at the young girl. "Avada—"_

 _"NO!" screamed Caroline, rushing forward to try and throw herself between Evelyn and the killing curse._

 _"—Kedavra!" With a flash of green light, the life vanished from Evelyn's eyes, leaving behind a cold empty shell. The man then did exactly as his friend had, apparating away as though it were nothing, as though taking the life of another human being was just a day on the job._

 _Tears streamed down Caroline's face as she helplessly stared down at Evelyn's body. Fenrir murdered her family and apathetic Death Eaters, who saw Evelyn as another gain in their plan for world domination, took her life._

* * *

Caroline woke up with a gasp, sitting straight up in her bed. Beads of sweat clung to her temples as her chest moved up and down rapidly, breath impossible to control. Looking around the room frantically, she recognized it as her dormitory, everything exactly as it had been the night before. _Just a dream_ , she thought. _It was just a very sick, messed up dream._

As her breathing slowed and her brain winded down from panic mode, Caroline also realized that none of her fellow Slytherin girls were in the dorm. Checking the clock beside her bed, she cursed loudly upon recognizing that she had class in less than 10 minutes. Throwing back the covers, Caroline got ready for class faster than she ever had in her life.

Hair in a disheveled mess and clothes thrown on haphazardly, Caroline rushed out of the Slytherin common room and towards Professor Slughorn's classroom for Potions. As she walked (read: sprinted) over there, her mind kept coming back to that dream, forever ingrained in her mind. Why would her dream center around Evelyn, of all people? She hadn't even seen Evelyn yet.

She suddenly stopped in the middle of her journey to class as a sudden thought struck her. Evelyn had been one of the students that decided not to come back to Hogwarts this year. She'd said she was staying home with her Muggle parents and older brother. But…there was surely no way what happened was real.

Shaking away these dark thoughts, Caroline refocused back into what she was doing: trying to make it to Potions on time. She picked up the pace again and managed to swing through the doorway in what she thought was the knick of time.

Unfortunately, upon looking up and realizing that everyone in the classroom was staring at her including Professor Slughorn, she recognized that she was, in fact, still quite late.

"Ah, Miss Grayson, so nice of you to join us," the Potions professor said. "If you'd kindly take a seat so that I may continue my lesson."

Caroline muttered a quick apology as she quickly searched for the nearest seat. It registered finally that the only open seat was next to an already snoozing Sirius Black. Rolling her eyes and bracing herself for the worst reaction possible, she plopped her stuff down rather loudly at the table, startling her partner awake.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," she quipped with a tight smile, settling down into her seat as Slughorn continued his lecture on the properties of some plant that Caroline had never heard of, nor wished to hear of again.

Sirius let out a yawn, yet still somehow managed to look annoyed by her presence. "Couldn't get enough of me last night, eh?" He teased, hoping to get a rise out of her.

Fortunately, Caroline was too distracted by her dream and exhausted from lack of sleep to really care what came out of his mouth. "Ah, yes, I spend every waking moment hoping to be graced with your venerable presence."

"Venerable?"

"Yes, venerable. Shall I spell it out for you so that you can look it up in the dictionary?" She replied without looking up from the notes she was taking.

A quiet snort came from the pair in front of them which she recognized as Remus and James. Both of them were fighting back smiles as they pretended not to listen in on Caroline's conversation. The fact her quip had gotten a laugh was encouraging enough, giving her more confidence not to take any shit from Sirius.

Her verbal sparring partner frowned at his friends back before turning to Caroline again. "I have to say, Grayson, I find your retorts to be rather banal."

Caroline faked a gasp, placing a delicate hand over her heart. "Have you been reading the dictionary again? Just for me, a mere fan? I might faint from sheer delight."

That got a real laugh out of both James and Remus, so much so that they turned back to grin at the two of them. However, it also caught the attention of Professor Slughorn, who snapped at them to keep quiet. It only further increased their amusement and Caroline glanced over at Sirius, pleasantly surprised when it appeared he too was fighting back a laugh.

After a few minutes, he muttered, "Alright, I'll admit I walked right into that one."

"As long as you're aware that you will lose this little stand off of ours, I'm right as rain," Caroline replied, smirking.

"'Right as rain'?"

"Oh," she chuckled, realizing her mistake. "It's a Muggle expression that my mum uses a lot."

Silence fell over them for a while as they focused in on Slughorn's lesson. There was only the sound of their quills scratching against parchment. Occasionally, Caroline could feel Sirius's gaze on her, but tried to ignore it, hunching forward into her notes even more. Finally, after looking at her for most of the class, Sirius spoke up.

"You're Captain this year of Slytherin's Quidditch team, right?" He asked quietly, though it was clear that he seemed to already know the answer.

"Yeah," Caroline replied. She'd been on the Quidditch team since her second year, stepping up as one of their star Chasers. Being an asset to the team had helped a lot with the problems she felt within her house—but just because her housemates wanted her to play for their house didn't mean they suddenly wanted to be friends with her.

Sirius smirked. "Hope you're ready to lose. My buddy James is already whipping Gryffindor's finest into shape."

Caroline smiled slightly, biting her lip to contain it. "I don't want to give away too much to the enemy"—she let her smile show through a bit brighter so he knew she was only joking—"but if it was a one woman team, I guarantee I could crush all of Gryffindor's finest."

"Who knew you had such a big head, Grayson?"

"Excuse me," Caroline quipped, making a show of nonchalantly examining her nails. "But who was it that single-handedly won Slytherin the Quidditch Cup last year?"

Sirius grumbled something under his breath—Caroline was moderately certain the words "bastards" and "cheating" came up—before becoming quite focused on the lesson at hand. When Caroline smirked at his lack of response, Sirius muttered, "Alright, you cheeky thing, you've made your point."

"Still a sore loser after all this time?"  
Sirius stuck his nose up in the air. "Keep talking trash like that, Grayson, and I'll reconsider inviting you to Gryffindor's party tomorrow night."

That made Caroline stop in her tracks. "Party? What party?"

"Well, you'd know about it if you nicer to me—after all, me and my mates did single-handedly plan the entire thing," Sirius lamented, but managed to shoot a wink at Remus, who had peaked back at them interestedly.

Caroline crossed her arms over her chest, quirking up a quizzical brow. "Who says I even want to go in the first place?"

Sirius smirked right back at her. "Everyone wants to go, love. Plus, all your little friends will be there—Meadowes, Evans, MacDonald, McKinnon. You don't want to be the only one not going, do you?"

Caroline huffed, blowing her bangs up with a puff of air. "Fine, good point. Is this the point where you expect me to grovel for an invitation?"

"That would be ideal, yes." He scratched out his expected response from her, passing it over with a grin.

"Oh, Sirius," Caroline drawled off, her tone flat and emotionless as she read the script written for her. "You magnificent man, please allow a lowly snake such as myself to come enjoy the splendor of the greatest party ever planned in the history of Hogwarts—nay, the history of wizard kind."

"Well, when you put it that way," Sirius gloated, eyes sparkling. "You are now officially invited to the Marauders' Gryffindor Back-To-School Extravaganza."

"I'll try to contain my glee," Caroline muttered under her breath.


	3. Ch 3: It Could Have Been Me

**A/N: Just wanted to quickly say thank you to everyone who has favorited and reviewed! I never expected such a positive response from this story, but I'll try to keep up the good work for you. Also, sorry to any Tarot card experts out there, I kind of manipulated them to fit my storyline for this chapter. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: It Could Have Been Me**

"What do you know about this party happening in the Gryffindor Tower tomorrow night?"

Caroline and Dorcas were laid out on the dewy grass, eyes shaded by the tree hanging over them. The day had turned unusually hot considering it was only midday, the sun beating down on students as they proceeded to shuck off any item of clothing they could without it becoming too much of a scandal. Some of the boys had even managed to unbutton their shirts, provided there was a white tank top underneath

The two girls were sprawled across a blanket with their books scattered around them haphazardly in an attempt to look busy, when in reality they'd both been dozing off for some time.

"Not much to know, really," Dorcas drawled, absent-mindedly twirling a finger through a curl. "They wanted to have a party, so they are. VIP only and all that." She paused and ran her dark eyed gaze up and down Caroline's face suspiciously. "How did you hear about it? I was planning on telling you this afternoon."

Heat flooded Caroline's cheeks as her gaze went back to the Potions textbook in front of her. "I got partnered up with Black today and he kind of, sort of invited me?" By the end of the sentence, her voice was reaching pitches heard only by dogs.

Dorcas grinned in a way eerily similar to the Cheshire cat. "Ooh, Sirius Black invited to you a party? How scandalous!" She teased, poking at Caroline's arm insistently.

Caroline batted her fingers away, rolling over onto her back so that she could look up at the sky—and away from Dorcas's smug expression. "He only did it because he knew I'd find out from you anyway." She bit her lip to hide the smile creeping up at the corners of her mouth as she thought over their conversation in Potions. "We actually…talked for a while. It was almost nice."

"I see that look, Care," Dorcas warned. "Don't start catching feelings that you can't afford to have. Sirius Black is practically allergic to relationships."

That had Caroline rolling her eyes. "I'm not an idiot. I don't think that because of one conversation he's suddenly transformed into a different person and will run off into the sunset with me."

"Who're you running off with?" A perky voice chirped from Caroline's feet, causing her to sit up with a start. It was Lily, Mary, and Marlene, all looking down at them with varying levels of curiosity. Mary had been the one who spoke, smiling widely at them as she pulled her hair up into a messy bun. "Mind if we join you?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Dorcas replied, patting the seat beside her.

The five girls shifted around so that they were all facing each other, sitting in a circle with their feet tucked underneath them. Caroline could feel the blush on her face starting up again and fought to avoid looking at Marlene. Every time their eyes met, she felt like the other girl could see right through her. It was unnerving, especially considering Marlene was kind of dating the boy that Caroline had been somewhat fixated on since her first year.

"So, who is it that you're planning on running off with, Caroline?" Lily asked with a grin, flipping her long red curls over one shoulder.

"Myself," Caroline joked, earning a laugh from the group. "Boys are too much for me to handle, trust me."

"Speaking of boys," Mary began. "Did you hear that…"

This began a long conversation centering around the latest gossip in Hogwarts. It involved what sounded like some form of a love hexagon with a number of players and victims all together. Caroline tried to pay attention for the sake of being polite, but as the story dragged on and she lost track of who had a history with whom, she gave up. Reaching over to where her bag was, she pulled out her worn down copy of _Sense and Sensibility_ , picking up where she'd left off.

She lost herself in the world of Jane Austen, experiencing the same ebb and flow of emotions that she always did when reading a favorite of hers. She'd just gotten to the part about Willoughby's dashing rescue of Marianne when she heard someone clear their throat next to her. Glancing up, Caroline saw that, while the rest of the group was avidly discussing Mary's juicy gossip find, Lily was smiling at her understandingly.

"Not very interested in Gryffindor's latest scandal, huh?" Lily asked, moving a bit so they were slightly separated from the other girls. None of them seemed to notice, subconsciously moving their bodies to close the gap she'd left.

Caroline shrugged, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Not particularly. I lost track of which people had been involved and which ones wanted to be and promptly gave up."

Lily chuckled. "It's a lot to keep up with." She looked down to read the title of the book in Caroline's hand. "Are you a big fan of Austen?"

"Fan doesn't seem strong enough. I'd almost call myself an enthusiast," Caroline quipped, smirking when Lily laughed in response. "My step-father teaches history, but is a bit of an Austen enthusiast on the side as well. He really encouraged me to give Muggle literature a shot when I was younger."

"What about your father?" Lily asked, before slapping a hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry, was that too invasive? Feel free to shut me down and we can change the subject."

"No, no, it's totally fine," Caroline assured her, chuckling at the real panic in the other girl's emerald eyes. "My father was taken aback at first, but eventually took it in stride. He's come to accept that the Muggle world was as influential on me growing up as the wizarding one. For a pureblood, he's an alright guy."

"Right," Lily muttered, clearly still slightly uncomfortable. "Has Dorcas told you about the party in Gryffindor tower tomorrow night?"

Caroline smiled. "Yeah, she mentioned it." Biting her lip, she debated whether or not to mention Sirius as well before throwing caution to the wind and adding, "Black actually told me that he and his cohorts organized it."

Lily rolled her eyes, leaning back so she was more reclined. "Yeah, they did. I tried to put a stop to it, at first, but they were very insistent." She paused and shrugged her shoulders. "Plus, with all the gloom and doom happening in the wizarding world, we could all use a bit of fun."

"Lily's finally decided to take that perpetual stick out of her butt and have fun!" Marlene teased, having perked up immediately at the mention of a party.

"First of all, I don't have a stick up my anything. Second of all," she intoned, pointing a perfectly manicured finger at her fellow Gryffindor. "I have made sure that none of the first through third years can come. They are far too young to see this kind of behavior."

"Plus, they're the most likely ones to rat us out to McGonagall," Marlene continued, sharing what she most likely thought was a conspiratorial smile with Caroline.

Caroline, however, did everything in her power to hide the flash of annoyance she felt at Marlene's presence. She knew, logically, that it was irrational to dislike her purely because she was seeing Sirius, yet here Caroline was, gritting her teeth with the effort of keeping her mouth shut. Pushing down all these thoughts, she attempted to smile back widely to hide all her conflicted feelings inside.

Judging by the confused look Marlene responded with, it wasn't very convincing.

* * *

That afternoon, Caroline had Divination and found her sat around a small table with Dorcas, trying to stay awake as the professor droned on about the great and mystical arts of "the Sight". While the shrill voice of Professor Arkwright should help in keeping her students awake, Caroline found the subject so boring not even her shrieking tone could fight off the droop of her eyelids.

"Now, you shall start off the year with a new endeavor—Tarot cards," Professor Arkwright announced, clearly awaiting an excited response from her students. When none came, her smile drooped and she flicked her wand rather assertively and a stack of cards landed with a great thump on each table.

Sighing, Dorcas leaned forward and spread out the card, meticulously following the process that was described by the teacher—as any good Ravenclaw would do. As instructed, she placed three cards on the table, using them to interpret Caroline's future.

The first card was _The Lovers_ , which depicted an angel blessing the union of a naked man and woman. Dorcas let out a loud snort, attempting to cover it with a cough when the rest of the students turned back to look at them. "Well, I think it's pretty clear what this one means," Dorcas said, sending an exaggerated wink towards Caroline, who huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Shut it and move on," Caroline snapped, giving her friend a warning look.

Muttering something under her breath about spoilsports, Dorcas flipped over the next card. It was _The Tower_ , which showed a burning tower being struck by lightning as those who had inhabited it fled from the fire. "I guess that means you're going to be meeting up with this lover in a tower—the Astronomy tower, perhaps?" Dorcas guessed, grinning.

"You are enjoying this far too much," Caroline grumbled. "Finish quickly, please."

Dorcas did so, flipping it over to reveal _Judgment_. "That sounds about right," Dorcas muttered, deftly dodging Caroline's well placed kicked in response. _Judgment_ was a picture of an angel playing a long horn to the people below, no doubt casting judgment upon them.

"Ok, my turn to tell your future," Caroline said almost menacingly, snatching up the cards from Dorcas's side of the table.

She shuffled them expertly before placing three face down on the table between them. With a pointed grin, she flipped over the first card, which was _Death_. The card showed death personified in a suit of armor as he marched across a field of dead soldiers on the back of a pure white horse. Startled for a moment, Caroline traced her finger over the outline of death's face and—

 _—so dark, so cold. Dorcas was standing all alone on a deserted Muggle street, face drenched with sweat and eyes wide. Her wand was clutched between white-knuckled fingers as she turned round and round, looking for her assailant. A loud crack sounded out as a figure stepped out into the light of the streetlamps._

 _He was Death, cloaked in black. No face could be seen from under the pitch black robes he wore. He moved with a practiced grace, closing in on his prey—Dorcas Meadowes. The two stood across from one another, facing off. They turned and turned in circles, each one refusing to attack first._

 _"Just tell me where she is," the cloaked figure rasped, voice ragged and deep. "And all this will be over—no more running, no more hiding."_

 _The fear in Dorcas's eyes hardened into hatred. "Never!"_

 _A skeletal, pale hand clutching a wand made of bone slipped out from the sleeve of the figure's inky robes, raising it so that it was aimed at Dorcas. "So be it," he spat out._

 _Simultaneously, the figure fired the Killing Curse as Dorcas tried to Stupefy him, the two spells hitting eat other in an explosion of light. The spells were held against each other, both vying to overcome the other. A sweat broke out on Dorcas's face as she pushed all she could into her own spell, yet it was proving futile as the Killing Curse pushed closer and closer to her._

 _Finally, an explosion of green light hit her square in the chest as she lost all the strength to continue. The spell knocked her to the ground and the cloaked figure moved forward to examine her body. She was dead, all the life gone from her dark eyes. Her face was turned to the side, eyes wide and unseeing, completely—_

—"Caroline!"

Snapping out of this sick vision, Caroline jumped in her seat, turning her head back and forth as she struggled to comprehend where she was. Slowly, she realized that she was still in Divination, now with the entire class staring at her. Dorcas was very much alive, staring her down with concerned eyes and Professor Arkwright was kneeled down next to her chair, hand placed gently on her shoulder.

"W-What?" Caroline muttered. "What happened?"

"You touched the card and then just froze up. You didn't respond to anything we said or did—it was like you were completely gone mentally," Dorcas said, leaning closer to place a comforting hand on top of Caroline's, which was now clutching the tarot card for Death in her hand.

With a start, Caroline dropped the card like it was on fire and then ran a hand over her face.

"Miss Grayson, did you…see anything?" Professor Arkwright asked in a hushed tone, quiet enough that only Dorcas and Caroline heard her.

Startled by the way the professor was staring at her, Caroline feared she would be able to see right through her. "No, nothing like that. I just…haven't been feeling well lately, that's all," she deflected quickly. When the professor didn't look convinced and all the attention she was getting started to make her fidget, Caroline added, "Maybe I should go see Madam Pomfrey?"

Professor Arkwright nodded, her silver-colored beehive bobbling as she did so. "Yes, yes, very good idea. I'll escort you there—Miss Meadowes, join one of the tables near you for the rest of class," she instructed before standing to address the class as a whole. "I will be gone for a moment. In that time, please continue your explorations of the cards."

Caroline speedily gathered her stuff and followed the Divination teacher out the door, steadfastly avoiding making eye contact with her classmates as she did so. The two walked all the way down from the tower where the Divination classroom was located, maintaining a tense silence as they did so. Caroline could tell that Professor Arkwright wanted to try asking about what she may have seen, by the way she glanced over at her every so often from the corner of her eye. However, she chose to ignore the flighty older woman, keeping her eyes aimed down at the floor.

When they finally made it into the Hospital Wing, Professor Arkwright strode in first, flinging the doors open with her usual grandeur. The wing was basically empty, save for some poor second year boy who appeared to have come under the receiving end of a particularly malicious jinx, his pudgy face and hands covered in red blisters.

Madam Pomfrey was sat on a stool towards the back of the wing, reading the Daily Prophet. Her expression was pinched, eyebrows knitted together as she read over a particularly troubling article.

"Madam Pomfrey!" Professor Arkwright called, waving to her friend. "I have a student for you to take care of." She walked over to the other witch, stopping in her tracks when she saw the headline of the article the other woman was reading. "Oh, dear, what's happened now?"

Madam Pomfrey sighed, laying down the newspaper. "Another attack. Killed an entire family this time—one of which was a student who went to Hogwarts. Poor thing."

Caroline felt her stomach turn, taking a few cautionary steps closer so she could read the headline. Her entire body froze up, eyes widening as she looked over the front page.

 _GREYBACK MURDERS ENTIRE FAMILY_ was plastered across the pages of the Daily Prophet, with an all too familiar image floating below it. It was the house—the one Caroline had seen in her dream. Same gravel driveway and modest house with a green door. The image moved closer so the readers could see the scratch marks left on the door by the family's attacker.

"W-Who was it?" Caroline heard herself ask, her lips barely moving. She prayed that she was wrong, that this was just an unfortunate coincidence.

"Evelyn Blakely," Pomfrey sighed, shaking her head. "Such a nice girl, too."

 _No_ , Caroline thought. _No, no, no…_

"Miss Grayson, you're awfully pale," Came Professor Arkwright's voice from somewhere near her.

The Divination teacher moved closer to her student, coming to lay a hand on her shoulder, but it was too late and the world became completely black as Caroline Grayson passed out on the floor of the Hospital Wing.


	4. Ch 4: Lady Stardust Sang His Songs

**A/N: Hello everyone! Thanks for all the lovely reviews, they mean a lot. Also, I'd like to preemptively apologize for how short this chapter is, it's setting up a lot for later on in the story.**

 **Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Lady Stardust Sang His Songs**

Caroline groggily started to wake up, hearing the low mumble of voices all around her. She turned her head side to side, slowly trying to pry her eyes open. The lights were too bright and she clamped her eyes shut against them, bringing a hand to place over them. The voices started talking more rapidly, more insistently, but Caroline still couldn't understand any of them.

The longer she laid there, waiting for the world to become clear, the quieter the voices became until it died down to just one.

"Care? Caroline, can you hear me?" It was Dorcas, gently calling out to her.

Slowly, Caroline tried opening her eyes again and this time was more successful, no lights blinding her. Her vision was blurry at first, seeing a few figures around her, before fading in more vividly. The first thing she noticed was the fact that she was currently laying in the hospital wing.

The second thing that struck her was the fact that the headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, was also standing by her bed, watching her over his half-moon spectacles. While she had no issues with the headmaster, they'd never really spoken one on one before. His presence made the situation only more confusing for Caroline and—if she was being completely honest—uncomfortable.

"Care!" Dorcas shouted, throwing her arms around her friend's neck and squeezing tightly. Caroline patted her on the back gently, before prying her off.

"Miss Grayson, you gave us all quite the scare," Madame Pomfrey, one of the other people surrounding her bed, chided as she came over to examine Caroline. "You appear to be much better now, though."

Caroline shifted uncomfortably under the eyes of all the people around her. "I feel much better, I promise."

Madam Pomfrey turned to Dorcas and said, "You'd better get on to class, Miss Meadowes, or you'll miss your first class."

Dorcas pouted a bit at being kicked out, though she ultimately did leave as instructed (but not before hugging Caroline one last time and promising to come see her again at lunch). After she left, Madam Pomfrey continued her examination of Caroline before leaving her alone with Professor Dumbledore—Caroline almost wished she hadn't, to be perfectly honest.

"Miss Grayson, your teacher tells me you experienced a bit of a…trance before you fainted? In class?" Dumbledore pried, eyes far too knowing for Caroline's liking.

Before this incident, she would've immediately rolled her eyes and questioned Professor Arkwright's sanity—but now her mind immediately went to Evelyn Blakely. She'd seen all of it happen, before it did. What could that mean? The idea of Seers was completely ridiculous, yet Caroline had no other explanation for what she'd seen. Her heart raced when she remembered what she'd seen with Dorcas—surely that couldn't be true?

"I—I don't know what to say, Professor," she mumbled, eyes downcast. She toyed with a stray thread at the seam of her sheets, pulling at it absent-mindedly.

The headmaster fixed her with a look. "Are you afraid to tell me?"

"It's not that exactly," Caroline said, voice beginning to shake and eyes watering as she finally admitted, "I'm afraid that if—if I say what is happening inside my head, it'll all become real. I don't want that, I don't want to turn into some sort of freak."

"I assure you, Miss Grayson, no matter what you tell me, you are not a freak. No matter what you've seen and why you see it, that won't change," the headmaster solemnly promised. "Now, tell me exactly what happened."

Taking in a shaking breath, Caroline started, "The night before last, I had this…dream. It was horrible and so real—too real for me to have made it up. I was in a rural Muggle neighborhood and I got to this house, that looked abandoned. But when I went inside, I saw all these…bodies and b-blood." Tears began streaming down her face. "It was awful! And then, these two men showed up; they were Death Eaters, I could see the tattoos on their arms, and they—oh Merlin, they killed Evelyn Blakely!"

Whatever he'd expected her to say, it was clear that was not it. Professor Dumbledore grabbed a chair and pulled it up so he could sit beside her. "You mean to tell me that you saw the attack on Miss Blakely's home, before it even happened?"

"I know it sounds insane," Caroline cried, running a hand through her tangled dark hair. "It's true, though! And they talked about Greyback, how he killed Evelyn's family. When I saw the article in the Prophet, everything was the same. Greyback, the house—even the damn scratches on the front door! They were all in that dream."

Professor Dumbledore sat back in his seat, absorbing everything she'd just said. "Hmm. Indeed," he muttered more to himself before addressing Caroline again. "What about in class yesterday? Did you see something again?"

Just the thought made Caroline's stomach turn and the waterworks began again, though she tried to stop them, wiping away her tears furiously. The rough movement left the area around her face rubbed raw, now patchy and red where it was usually milky white and smooth.

"It was about my friend, Dorcas Meadowes. We were reading each other's Tarot cards in class and when I flipped over her first card, I suddenly saw this, this vision? I-I watched her get murder by some cloaked figure," she managed to get out through gritted teeth.

"Did it look recent? Close to now?"

Caroline shook her head. "No, no. Dorcas looked…older, more worn down and her hair was a lot shorter than it is now." Letting out a huffing sigh, Caroline hung her head in her hands. "What's happening to me, Professor? Am I losing my mind?"

The headmaster stood up from his seat, moving it back to where it was before. He too sighed, clearly unsure of what to say. "I am not totally certain of what is happening to you, Miss Grayson, but I intend to look into it. However, I can say with much confidence that—no matter what you are experiencing—you are not insane. I suggest you rest for today and then try to move on from these visions you're experiencing."

Dumbledore's advice was easier said than done. Since Madam Pomfrey refused to release Caroline from her care until that afternoon, Caroline spent most of her day laying in bed with nothing to do. She tried to sleep some more—as instructed by those in the Hospital Wing—yet every time she closed her eyes she would either see Dorcas's lifeless face or the blood in Evelyn Blakely's house. Both images had her immediately sitting straight up in bed, rubbing a hand over her eyes as though that would wipe away these pictures from her brain.

* * *

Dorcas did as she promised and visited during lunch, chattering on about nothing. She was very good at sensing when Caroline didn't feel like talking, so she filled the silences herself. Caroline was content to sit in bed and let Dorcas's voice wash over her while her friend was perfectly fine with carrying an entire conversation herself.

Later, when Madam Pomfrey finally accepted that Caroline was fine, Dorcas was waiting outside the Hospital Wing, bouncing on her toes in excitement. As soon as they were out of earshot, Dorcas cried, "It's time to party!"

Caroline raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"The party in Gryffindor Tower," Dorcas said, placing her hands on her hips. "Don't tell me that in all that yesterday excitement you forgot about it?"

"Well, to give myself some credit, I did pass out, so it's hard to remember something when you're unconscious."

"Whatever," Dorcas dismissed, waving her hand as they continued down the hallway. A few students they passed turned to give Caroline curious looks before they turned back to each other, whispering furiously. Caroline tried to let it roll off of her—she'd been an expert at ignoring people when she had been bullied as a kid—yet it didn't stop an irritated growl from creeping up her throat when it happened two more times.

"Okay, what is with the entire population of this school?" Caroline finally snapped, glaring at a group of Hufflepuff girls who happened to be the last ones to break her. They scurried off quickly, eyes wide and faces flushed.

Dorcas placed a hand on her friend's arm, sending her a warning look. When they turned a corner again, Dorcas gripped Caroline's elbow tightly and swung them into an alcove where no one could see them. "Look, after the whole incident in class and then the other one in the Hospital Wing…people are starting to talk."

"About what? The fact that I fainted? Big deal—I once saw a kid get jinxed so that he had elephant ears for three days!" Caroline replied, throwing her hands up in the air.

Dorcas shrugged. "I know it makes no sense, but that's just how this school works, you know? Something weird happens, they immediately start coming up with wild explanations for it."

"Ugh," Caroline groaned, flopping down to the ground and hanging her head in her hands. "Lay the most popular rumors on me—I can handle it."

"Well," Dorcas dragged out, shuffling from foot to foot. "The most popular one is that you recently received the Dark Mark from You-Know-Who and had a bad reaction to it."

" _What?_ " Caroline shrieked, looking up at her friend incredulously. "Are they complete idiots? My mother is a damned blood traitor to those pureblood assholes! Why the _hell_ would I join them?"

Her best friend held her hands up in surrender. "Don't shoot me, I'm just the messenger. The second most popular theory is that you faked all of it for some attention, since you lost it after you broke that guy's nose two years ahead of us."

Caroline snorted. "I almost prefer the first one."

Letting out a sigh, Dorcas held out a hand for Caroline to use as leverage to stand back up. Once she was on her feet, the two girls went back to walking down the hallway. Caroline wasn't really sure where they were going—if she was being completely honest, she didn't think Dorcas knew either.

"You know, Sirius asked me about you this morning," Dorcas commented in what she probably thought was a subtle manner. But Caroline could see the way she watched her from the corner of her eye, assessing her friend's reaction.

"And why would he do that?" Caroline asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "He barely even knows me."

Dorcas smirked. "He seemed genuinely concerned…maybe you have a chance after all, Care." She bumped shoulders with her friend. "Marlene better watch out."

At the mention of Sirius's current flame, Caroline's small smile immediately dropped and she flicked her gaze forward. "I'm sure he just wanted to know if he would have the same number of people for this party he's throwing."

Dorcas opened her mouth as though to argue, but ultimately chose to say nothing, continuing down the hallway next to Caroline.

* * *

"Ow! Is all this really necessary?"

Caroline was currently sat in the middle of Ravenclaw's dormitory, wincing as Dorcas stood behind her, claiming to be braiding her hair. Really, it felt like Dorcas was trying to rip the hair out of her friend's skull, judging by the way she tugged.

"Of course it's necessary!" Dorcas replied, finishing off one braid and moving on to the other one. "Marlene specifically told me that no uniforms was the dress code."

"No uniforms doesn't mean you have to put in all this extra effort," grumbled Caroline, wincing at another sharp pull from her hair.

Dorcas laughed as though what Caroline just said was the funniest joke in the world. "Oh, honey, it's implied."

By the time they were done getting ready, the party was probably well on its way. Caroline examined herself in a full length mirror as Dorcas finished off her look with a pair of hoop earrings. She wasn't wearing anything particularly scandalous—she had one a dark blue jumpsuit with flared, bell bottoms and three quarter length sleeves. On her feet were a pair of chunky heels that were technically Dorcas's, but she'd borrowed them for the night. Overall, she looked good, but it was still simple enough for her not to attract much attention—which was typically what Caroline went for when getting dressed.

Dorcas, however, had gone a bit more bold, wearing a long sleeveless dress that was white with large pink flowers all over it. Her hair was all natural, flowing down to her shoulders in thick curls. She'd thrown on a bit of glittering, blue eye shadow and lip gloss to add to the overall look—plus her favorite pair of gold hoops.

"Ready?" Dorcas asked, looping her arm through Caroline's.

She sighed. "As I'll ever be."

The two girls crept through the halls of Hogwarts, pausing at every turn around a corner to look out for professors or prefects. The closer they got to Gryffindor tower, the tighter the knot in Caroline's stomach got. _What if this is a mistake?_ She wondered, unable to forget the incidents of the past 24 hours. It was hard to let loose and have fun when all you can think about is a dead housemate.

Finally, they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, where Marlene was leaned up against the wall, smacking on a piece of gum. She looked gorgeous, of course, with her pair of tight black jeans and gray, form-fitting shirt. Her hair was in a loose braid, a few dark strands slipping out here and there. It was the effortless look that Caroline always wanted to emulate, but never could.

Upon spotting the other girls, Marlene straightened up as she graced them with a ruby-lipped smile. "I thought you lot would never show up," she teased, jabbing a thin finger into Dorcas's side. Turning to face the Fat Lady, who had been asleep up until this point, she said, "Licorice Snap."

With a slight snort, the Fat Lady jumped up, blearily glancing over them. Finally, with a huff and wave of her hand, the portrait moved to reveal the entrance to the Gryffindor common room.

Caroline took in the chaos of the room around her. It was a circular room with lavish crimson colored furnishings, such as cushy armchairs and embroidered rugs. At the center of the room was a large fire place which had been charmed to take on the shape of a lion's head, roaring occasionally. There was one, long table covered with various foods and drinks as well as what appeared to be a Muggle radio that was playing music for the students to dance to.

Not too many people were there—no more than 40—but the room was small enough that it felt like the entire world had been crammed into the common room. Most of the students Caroline recognized as fellow seventh years, with a few sixth year Gryffindors thrown in for good measure. The radio was currently blasting "Dancing Queen" by ABBA, with the muggleborn students singing along while other students merely bopped their heads to the beat.

Dorcas grabbed her arm and dragged Caroline over to the refreshments table where Lily was standing with her arms crossed, looking extremely sour for what was meant to be a happy affair.

"What's wrong?" Dorcas asked Lily, raising her voice slightly to be heard over the music.

Lily didn't respond, taking a sip of her drink as she kept her eyes locked on one specific sight. Caroline turned and saw that James was dancing with some blond Gryffindor sixth year a couple yards away from them. Altogether, the dancing was considerably innocent and friendly, but Caroline saw the way Lily's eyes narrowed a fraction every time the two moved closer together.

 _Interesting_ , Caroline though, turning to grab a drink. When she reached to pour herself some punch, Lily's hand shot out to stop her. "Don't drink any of that unless you plan on waking up with a killer hangover in the morning," Lily warned, nodding down at the pink liquid in a glass bowl. "I lost count of the amount of things Sirius dumped in there."

Caroline hesitated, moving to drop the ladel, when she caught sight of something across from her in a corner of the room. Marlene and Sirius were in the back, so wrapped up in each other you couldn't tell where one ended and the other began. Her stomach dropped for a moment, before a thought occurred to Caroline. I have been through way too much shit in the past 24 hours—I deserve this!

With that in mind, Caroline turned to smile mischievously and quip back, "I have every intention of forgetting this entire day ever occurred." She filled a cup to the brim with punch and began to drink.

One drink turned to three and before Caroline knew it, she was out on the dance floor with an equally inebriated Remus, who seemed to be weighed down earlier as well. They jumped up and down, flailing about in some drunken attempt at dancing. A few people around them stared, but Caroline's brain wasn't capable of picking up on it.

"Remus," Caroline shouted, coming to rest her hands on the lanky boy's shoulders as she struggled to stay upright after so much jumping. "Y're the besss, ya know? Y're ssooo nice, 'n cool, 'n jusss a sstand up guy…"

Remus nodded his head up and down aggressively. "I'm the besss," he repeated, turning his former rigorous dance into a sort of swaying movement.

Caroline, having lost the motivation to hold herself up, wrapped her arms around Remus's neck and just hung there, pressing her face against his button down shirt. "Ya smell ssooo gooood…"

"Alright, alright, you two, time for bed," came Sirius's voice out of no where, breaking the duo apart. Remus just kind of nodded, seeming having enough sense left to understand that he needed to sit down.

Caroline, on the other hand, tried to take one step and promptly fell, narrowly caught by Sirius from breaking her face on the floor of Gryffindor's common room. She was a bit of a dead weight, just letting him hold her up as her eyes remained closed.

"Grayson?" Sirius asked, feeling a cold panic run up his spine. "Caroline? Caroline, are you alright?"

The girl in his arm's suddenly opened her icy blue eyes with a gasp, reaching to grip his shoulders like she had Remus, only much tighter, her knuckles turning white with the force she was applying. "Sirius," she whispered, her words still slurring together. "I can' stop 'em, Sirius, I _can'_ stop 'em."

"Can't stop who?"

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her face into his neck, a few hot tears sliding down her cheeks. "The dreams," she mumbled, sounding horribly distraught.

Startled, all Sirius could do was wrap his arms around her as he attempted to comfort her over whatever had her crying.

As Caroline pulled back slightly so they were face to face again, she looked absolutely broken, face wet with tears and eyes full of fear. "She's gonna die," she whispered, voice cracking. "'N there's nothing I can do."

"You've just had too much to drink, alright?" Sirius murmured soothingly, running a hand up and down her arm. "Everything will be alright, I promise."

"Dumbledore told me ta forget it, but I can'," Caroline wailed, pressing her hands over her eyes, smudging black mascara all around her eyes.

Before Sirius had the chance to question what she was saying, Dorcas appeared seemingly out of nowhere, wrapping an arm around her friend's shoulders. After a few incoherent mutterings into her friend's ear, Dorcas told Sirius, "I've got her. I'm going to take her back to my dorm."

With that, the two girls swiftly left the party, leaving behind a very confused Sirius to watch them go.


	5. Ch 5: Floating in a Most Peculiar Way

**Chapter 5: Floating in a Most Peculiar Way**

Caroline awoke in the Ravenclaw dormitory, sandwiched into Dorcas's bed with her friend snoozing away beside her. She could feel the tickle of Dorcas's unkempt curls at the back of her neck, a friendly reminder that she wasn't alone. Pushing herself up on one elbow, she cast a glance over the room to see that most of the other girls were already up and out of bed, a couple of exceptions still asleep in their beds.

The sun was already up in the sky and shining, a few yellow rays poking through the curtains on the window to shine in Caroline's eyes. She shielded her face with the palm of her hand, turning her back to the sun so she might now be blinded again. When she moved to sit up fully, her head started to pound, as though in protest of any movement.

"Ugh," she groaned quietly, rubbing her temples.

"On a scale of one to five, how much do you feel like dying right now?" Dorcas mumbled from behind her without opening her eyes.

She sighed. "At least a ten, but I haven't tried to stand up yet."

Dorcas sat up and went over into the bathroom, coming back with a small vial of a potion in her hand. She held it out to Caroline, who took it—albeit suspiciously. "It's not usually taken to help with a hangover, but it should at least make you feel somewhat human again."

Caroline knocked it back, wincing at the vile taste of it and the way it made her tongue feel gritty. Smacking her lips a few times to try and alleviate the taste, she could already feel the potion beginning to work, able to open her eyes a bit wider, hold her head up a bit higher.

"Thanks for that," she muttered, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

Dorcas plopped back down on the bed, rubbing the last traces of sleep from her eyes. "Caroline…" she started, and her friend could tell by the tone of her voice that whatever she was about to say wasn't going to be good. "What the bloody hell were you thinking?"

Caroline winced, biting her lip as her eyes fell to the floor. When she offered no explanation for her slightly reckless behavior, Dorcas continued, "What possessed you to throw all caution to the wind and get so completely smashed that you were a sobbing mess by the end of the night? I was so scared for you."

"I just…" Caroline began, struggling to form the right words. "I wanted to stop thinking, for once in my life. Just turn my brain off for an evening, although clearly it didn't work since I ended up a sobbing mess anyway."

"I get that, but you had me really worried, Care," Dorcas said, not unkindly, reaching out to place a hand on the other girl's shoulder.

Caroline sighed. "I'm sorry, I really am. I saw Sirius and Marlene, and it just felt like the final—"

Dorcas let out a loud groan, flopping onto her back. "Sirius, Sirius, it's always about that fluffy haired _ponce_. Why does he have such a strong effect on you?"

"Believe me, if I could figure out a way to stop, I would. I'm very ashamed of the whole incident, if it comforts you to know," Caroline replied, running a hand through her mess of a mane, fingers catching on a few knots here and there.

Suddenly, Dorcas sat straight up in her bed. "You know what you need? A boy to take the other one off your mind!" Caroline could already see the cogs inside her head beginning to turn, imaginary smoke starting to puff out of her ears. "I'll find you the perfect guy, I swear!"

While Caroline was sorely tempted to immediately derail this mission with a sharp objection, she recognized that Dorcas was right. Holding onto these feelings for Sirius wasn't healthy—especially when they were causing more harm than good for Caroline. A distraction was exactly what she needed.

"In any case," Caroline stated, deftly moving from one topic to another. "I'm still sorry about scaring you—I really didn't mean to."

Dorcas grabbed her friend's hands and held them for a moment. "You know that you can tell me anything, right Care? You always keep whatever's bothering you bottled up and that's not good. You can always tell me—or any of the other girls, really—what's on your mind."

Caroline smiled, but all she could think was: _But can I tell you that I've started seeing people I know die? That I've seen you die too?_

* * *

After changing into some clean clothes and eating lunch with Dorcas, Caroline decided that she needed to clear her head of all her muddled thoughts—the memories from the night before were all tangled together, trying to unravel themselves. So she did what she usually does in a situation like that: She goes out to the Quidditch pitch.

Unsurprisingly—as Quidditch season hadn't even started yet—there was no one there when Caroline arrived. She was up and away in the air before anyone could blink, relishing in the feeling of the wind in her hair, biting at her cheeks as she picked up speed. She flew up, up, up until she was high enough that everyone else in the world looked like specks on a map.

She'd always loved to fly—even as a kid, when her father would take her flying around with him in the perfectly mowed backyard of her childhood home. Memories of sunlight afternoons whizzing around in the air were the kinds of things she tried to hold onto, not the sound of yelling every night from her parents' bedroom when they thought she was asleep. Despite the messy divorce her parents went through, Caroline still maintained a good relationship with her father, keeping a constant correspondence while she was in school and then regular visits during the summer.

Her last visit, however, had been rather tumultuous towards the end. At first, it was a fairly average visit with her father, talking about what they'd both been up to. Inevitably, the topic of the killings at the hands of You-Know-Who's followers came up and her father immediately shut down. He steadfastly remained tightlipped about the entire ordeal, lashing out when Caroline wouldn't let it go.

"Don't talk about things you don't understand, Caroline," her father had finally snapped, slamming his fist down on the table they were eating lunch at.

She'd bit her lip to fight back the tears of rage at being talked down to by her own father and hissed, "What I don't understand is how you can act as though these aren't your colleagues—people that you see every day. How can you look them in the eye, knowing that they're all blood thirsty _murderers_!"

"I'm done discussing this," he'd replied, turning from hot to icy cold in an instant.

"Burying your head in the sand won't change anything," she'd shouted, standing up so abruptly that she knocked over her chair, sending it to the floor with a hideous bang. "I can't even look at you right now."

And with that, she'd stormed out of his manor and Apparated home, crying the whole way. That was the last time they'd communicated, which left a bad taste in Caroline's mouth. She regretted fighting with her father like that, but knew that ultimately she'd meant what she said. Taking back what she said wouldn't change the fact that her father's method of ignoring the problem at hand was only aiding You-Know-Who and his entire regime.

 _Still, I'd better write him soon_ , she thought idly, when she heard a voice calling her name. Glancing down, none other than Sirius Black—the exact boy she'd hoped to avoid for a while—was flying up from the pitch to where she was. Composing her expression, Caroline hoped that she appeared more calm and cavalier than she actually was.

"Small world, eh?" He joked, a toothy grin enveloping his face.

"Apparently so," Caroline replied dryly, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. "What brings you here?"

"I could ask you the same question," he teased. "I figured you'd be somewhere sleeping off a killer hangover."

At the mention of last night, Caroline winced. "Yeah, well, fortunately, Dorcas took good care of me."

The grin dimmed in wattage as he nodded along with her words, adding, "You seemed in pretty rough shape towards the end of the night."

"About that," Caroline started, feeling the heat of a blush creeping up her cheeks. "I'm sorry for crying all over you. That was totally inappropriate and altogether rather humiliating."

He waved his hand dismissively. "I've been told many times I have a wonderful shoulder to cry on." He glanced at her a bit warily, eyes flicking back and forth as though he were trying to decide if he should say something else.

"What?" Caroline finally demanded, annoyed. Normally she would don a defensive pose of her arms crossed over her chest or a hand on the hip, but flying made that next to impossible.

Sirius scratched the back of his head. "Some of the stuff you said was…well, it was a bit…"

"What, Black?" She snapped, temper flaring "A bit what?"

"Well, mad, if I'm being completely honest."

That had her frozen in the spot. The night was mostly a blur for her, so she had no idea to what she'd drunkenly chosen to blather on about. _Shit_ , she thought, panicking. _Shit, shit, shit!_ Her heart began to pound in her chest, so hard she thought it might burst.

"W-What did I say?" Caroline questioned timidly, voice barely above a mumble and lips stiff.

"You kept going on about dreams and something Dumbledore told you," Sirius said, laughing off the whole experience. "You were so out of it, Grayson."

He was totally oblivious to the way his words had made Caroline's eyes became wide and her skin paled enough that she looked comparable to a corpse. She'd spilled her guts about the dreams to Sirius Black, of all people? And in the middle of a party, where anyone else could've heard? _So much for trying to keep it hush and move on with my life_ , she mused abjectly.

"Grayson?"

Her eyes jumped up from some random spot below her to Sirius's piercing gray eyes. His dark brows were knitted together in concern, hand reaching out to touch her shoulder. Not-so-subtly shaking off his touch—for fear of what that might do to her pulse—Caroline drifted around in the sky aimlessly, pasting on a smile.

"Sorry, I'm just a bit out of it," she replied, but it was evident by the way his gaze tracked her movements that he didn't believe her. Quickly, she added, "I had a fight with my dad right before I came back to Hogwarts, so it's been weighing me down a bit as of late."

Sirius nodded. "Are you two close?"

Caroline shrugged. "As close as we can be, considering I live full time in London with my mom, stepdad, and sister. He doesn't totally get the little life we have, but he respects that it's important—to me and Mum."

"What did you fight about, if you don't mind me asking?" Sirius said, sounding genuinely concerned.

Normally, such probing questions would put Caroline on edge and ready to deflect, but right now she felt as though all she wanted to do was push this weight off of her chest. Taking in a deep breath, she replied, "It was about all of You-Know-Who's attacks. I was upset because he just—just pretends like nothing is happening when it's all I seem to be able to think about these days! I will never be able to understand how he just stands idly by as the people he regularly interacts with murder innocents in the name of some twisted Dark Lord."

"I know exactly what you mean," Sirius injected, shaking his head furiously. "Acting as a bystander does nothing but make it easier for Death Eaters to continue on their crusade for blood. The only way to stop them is to resist—to fight back!"

"Exactly!" Caroline exclaimed, throwing a hand up in the air so violently that it jostled her broom a bit. "That's what I meant. But it would've done me just as much good to try and convince a wall of my case. He totally shut down, like always."

Sirius considered her words for a moment. "There will always be people who choose to do that, I suppose. Keep out of the fight altogether."

"Yeah," Caroline grumbled, letting out a huffing sigh. "But we can't all be Switzerland, you know."  
He turned to give her an absolutely bewildered expression. "Switzerland? What in Merlin's name does that mean?"

"You know, Switzerland," Caroline replied, rolling her eyes. "They stayed neutral throughout the second—" As she continued to talk, Sirius's expression only got worse, to the point that his gaze was starting to wander around. Then it hit her. "Oh! You don't know much about Muggle history, do you?"

"None whatsoever," he quipped, smiling as though this were a shining accomplishment.

Caroline nodded, fighting a laugh. "Well, my mum is a big fan of Muggle culture—film, television, books—so I've learned a lot as a result."

"What is that like?" Sirius asked. "Living a Muggle life with your pureblood mother. Does it feel a bit weird?"

She shrugged. "Not particularly. Sometimes I think I fit in better to that world than this one. No one knows anything about me or the stigma of my family name—no one cares what kind of blood I have or that my mother is a 'blood traitor.' To a Muggle, I'm just another girl walking down the street." She glanced up and realized that her companion was staring at her determinedly.

Sirius's gaze seemed to pierce right through her very soul, as though he understood exactly how she felt. "I've always enjoyed Muggle London. I would go there a lot in the summer in secret—sneak off when my parents weren't keeping a watchful eye."

Caroline couldn't help but smile, thinking of the familiar streets of the city she loved so dearly. "What is your favorite thing to do in London?"

"I love Muggle music, so if there's a show in town, I'm probably there," Sirius stated, puffing up his chest as he did so. "Also, there's this pub that's situated right down a tiny alley—looks like the shadiest place in London, but they serve a mean beer and never asks for any kind of identification."

Nodding her head in approval, Caroline couldn't stop herself from saying, "You should show me this pub sometime."

Fortunately, Sirius smiled widely and answered, "Sounds like a plan, love."

Before Caroline could say something even more idiotic—such as "It's a date!"—a figure came running out onto the field, waving their arms and yelling. Moving down a bit further, Caroline realized with a lurch that it was Marlene, who was beaming up at a pleasantly surprised Sirius.

"Get down here, you sod!" Marlene cried, waving for Sirius to come meet her on the field.

Sirius turned to Caroline and saluted her, adding a bit lecherously, "Duty calls." He quickly flew down towards the ground, intentionally coming in way too hot so that Marlene would duck to the ground with a squeal. He cackled at her response, which only made the brunette even more mad, flipping him off as she ran to where he'd finally dismounted.

Marlene first pretended to be angry, aiming an elbow at his gut, but she didn't fight him off when he leaned down and placed a smacking kiss on her lips. In fact, she welcomed his touch, holding onto his shirt when he tried to pull away, as though demanding just one more kiss. The sight made Caroline so sick with envy that she had to look away, flying back up to where she and Sirius had started.

After having such a personal conversation, it was gut wrenching to watch him fly back to his girlfriend with a spring in his step. Somehow, even though he'd promised her nothing, Caroline felt betrayed by how easily he left their conversation, as though completely unaffected. Tears stung her eyes, welling up and then spilling down her pale cheeks, hot and briny over her skin.

It was in that low moment of heartbreak and distress that Caroline truly accepted Dorcas's words from that morning—it was time to move on from Sirius Black.

* * *

After Caroline finally stopped crying and came down from her safe spot above the ground, she headed for the library where she planned to finish reading _Sense and Sensibility_. It provided her with the opportunity to mentally escape her problems, since she'd spent hours physically evading them by staying up in the clouds. Dog-eared copy in hand, she made her way to a specific corner of the library where she typically read and relaxed.

Caroline had spent many hours in this exact spot—it was a window seat in the library that looking out over the grounds. It was perfect for curling up with a good book and passing time, lost in another world of someone else's design. As she read, Caroline couldn't help but envy the neat manner in which Jane Austen fixed the love lives of her female characters. Though to them it seemed totally impossible to predict, it was so easy to know who the young lady was meant to be with—Maryann with Colonel Brandon and Elinor with Edward Ferrars.

Caroline wished her life was that easy to predict and unravel—maybe then she wouldn't feel so miserable.

Her musings were interrupted by the familiar sound of Dorcas pointedly clearing her throat. Caroline had been brought out of a reading frenzy many times by this specific sound and felt no surprise when it did so in that moment. Glancing up from the last few pages of the novel, Caroline realized that Dorcas wasn't alone this time.

Standing just behind Dorcas was a very familiar boy named Adam Milton from Hufflepuff. He was familiar because they were in the same year and he was well known as the Golden Boy of Hufflepuff. As captain of the Quidditch team for three consecutive years, Adam had gained a reputation as the star of his house. Caroline was also familiar because she had relished in his crushed expression when she delivered the final blow in beating him and the rest of Hufflepuff's team last year.

"Dorcas," Caroline began suspiciously, slowly shutting her book as she sat up and turned to face the duo. "Whatever brings you here, dearest friend of mine."

Dorcas grinned wickedly. "I'd like to make some introductions. Caroline, this is Adam Milton, Hufflepuff extraordinaire. Adam, this is Slytherin's notorious ice princess, Caroline Grayson. Now," she said, clapping her hands together ecstatically. "Get to know each other and have fun!" With that, she waltzed away, leaving the two others standing there, totally bemused.

Slowly, Caroline turned to make eye contact with Adam and the two promptly burst out laughing. When their laughter faded, Caroline gestured silently for Adam to have a seat next to her. "As she said, I'm Caroline," she said, holding out her hand to shake.

He took it, adding, "I'm Adam. Nice to meet you, officially." He glanced down at the book in her hand and smiled. "A fan of Austen, then?"

"Yeah, it's a bit of a guilty pleasure," Caroline admitted, smiling.

"My mum is an English professor, so don't ever let her hear you say it's a guilty one," Adam teased. "I can't tell you how many times I've heard her go on and on about _Pride and Prejudice_ or some other Austen book."

Caroline chuckled. "Well, I think they're considered classics for a reason, so…"

"Ok, but a real classic would be the Lord of the Rings trilogy by Tolkien. Have you ever read that?"

Caroline winced. "I'm not a big fan of fantasy novels."

"Trust me, Tolkien is just a life experience every bookworm must have," Adam insisted dramatically, grinning when his words earned a laugh from Caroline.

The two went on like this for some time, exchanging book recommendations or trashing a particularly shitty novel they'd had the unfortunate experience of reading. While the conversation was fun and light-hearted, Caroline couldn't stop herself from comparing Adam with Sirius. While Adam was nice and charming, she felt none of the fiery spark that ignited inside of her when she was near Sirius.

However, she was still determined not to let this ruin her chances with Adam. Caroline was now more determined than ever to get over this pesky crush on Sirius Black—even if it meant settling for someone else.


	6. Ch 6: My Heart's in the Basement

**Chapter 6: My Heart's in the Basement**

Over the next couple of weeks, Caroline decided to give Adam a chance and spent most of her free time with him. Their time spent together was mostly trying to get to know one another—sharing interests, bonding over their experiences in the Muggle world. All in all, Caroline was glad that Dorcas had introduced them, as it became clear that Adam was a kind and considerate person. However, she found it hard to believe that he would be enough to get rid of her pesky feelings for Sirius.

On one of the days that they were spending time together, Caroline and Adam were sat side-by-side in her favorite window seat, doing homework together. Since the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs shared History of Magic, they were working on their first major assignment—an extended essay on the modern day effects of the Witch Hunts of the 14th century. While scribbling away on her parchment, Caroline caught Adam staring at her from the corner of her eye.

Glancing over at him, she raised an eyebrow and grinned toothily. "What are you staring at?"

"You," he breathed out, so softly that Caroline wasn't sure if he'd meant to say it out loud.

"Oh," she stuttered out, cheeks burning red. She glanced back down at her essay, causing a strand of hair to fall in front of her eyes.

Reaching out slow and steady—as though giving her the chance to stop him—Adam brushed the hair behind her ear and gently turned her face back towards him. His caramel eyes darted back and forth between her lips and eyes before he leaned forward with that same steady pace.

When his soft lips pressed against hers, Caroline had hoped to feel a spark of…something. Anything, really. Instead, the kiss—while pleasant and meriting no complaints—caused no such feeling in Caroline. When they pulled apart, she schooled her expression to hide the disappointment she felt. Instead, she pasted on a bright smile and murmured, "Not really how I expected my day to go today."

Adam placed his parchment and quill to the side, turning his body to fully face Caroline. The movement made her startle slightly, moving away briefly, before she relaxed again. "Caroline Grayson," he began, taking one of her hands in his.

"Adam Milton," she replied teasingly, unable to stop grinning at the faux-grandeur of what he was saying.

"I have a proposition for you," he told her.

"Proposing already? Why, Mr. Milton, we hardly know each other," Caroline exclaimed dramatically, making sure he saw the slight upturn of her lips to know she was only joking.

Chuckling, Adam lightly tapped her on the nose to get her attention focused back to him. "Madame, please," he shot back in an equally theatrical manner, puffing up his chest so that he was looking down his nose at Caroline. "This is a serious matter."

Caroline bit her lip, schooling her expression into one that was eerily similar to Professor McGonagall when she was stern. "Yes, of course, do continue, my good fellow."

Dropping the silly game they were playing, Adam smiled widely and asked, "Would you go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?"

Despite the kiss they'd shared mere moments ago, Caroline's jaw dropped in shock. "Hogsmeade?" She sputtered. "Together? Like a date?"

Adam laughed, clearly endeared by her rather moronic response. "That was the general idea, yes." He paused and his expression became less light, more subdued and he added, "Unless you aren't interested in me, in that way. Which is perfectly alright—"

"Yes!" Caroline blurted out without thinking.

Adam's eyes lit up. "Really? You're not just pandering me in some grander scheme to cheat off my homework?"

Caroline scoffed. "Seeing as I'm doing better in that class than you, it would be academic suicide to attempt such a plan." More seriously, she added, "I would definitely like to go to Hogsmeade with you this weekend."

Adam grinned, practically floating with his own joy. "Great!"

* * *

Rather embarrassingly, Caroline completely forgot about her agreeing to go out with Adam for most of the week. They still spent time together, but it was decidedly chaste, no funny business whatsoever. Caroline suspected that, while Adam may have wanted to attempt something similar to what happened in the library, he feared he'd pushed for too much too soon and decided to play it cool until Hogsmeade.

Thus, Caroline completely forgot about this new turn their relationship had taken. It wasn't until Potions class the day before Hogsmeade that it was brought to her attention once again.

Caroline and Sirius—now permanently partners—were working on brewing a Shrinking Solution, waiting for it to simmer into its proper green hue. While standing around waiting—as many of the pairs were at that point in class—they began to chat.

"Are you planning on going to Hogsmeade this weekend?" Sirius asked her, though he appeared uninterested in her answer, judging by the way his examined his nails rather than looked at her.

Assessing his reaction, Caroline drawled out, "Yes, actually. I have a date."

His eyes shot up to meet her, confusion and (rather offensively) disbelief swimming in those gray orbs of his. "A date? With who?" He demanded loudly, causing a few heads to turn in their direction.

Caroline glared at them until they all turned back around before smacking Sirius up the head. "You absolute dunce, will you pipe down?" She hissed, eyes flashing dangerously. Crossing her arms over her chest, Caroline added flatly, "I guess someone finally decided to risk being incinerated by my deadly gaze and ask me to go."

"You know that's not what I meant," Sirius replied, looking rather guilty— _Good_ , some part deep inside of her thought.

Blowing a piece of hair out of her face and cocking one hip to the side so she could lean against their wooden desk, Caroline said, "It's exactly what you meant, but don't worry, I'm sure you're not the first—and definitely won't be the last."

Sirius tried to reach out a hand to place on her shoulder in apology, but she shrugged him off, suddenly becoming very busy with flipping through her notes on the potion. It was starting to become greener, but still not enough to indicate that it was ready to turn in.

"Caroline," Sirius murmured. "I'm only surprised because I've never seen you around any guys other than me and my mates." As soon as the words left his mouth, his eyes went wide and he started to ask what Caroline already knew was an idiotic question.

"You've caught me, Sirius," she snapped sarcastically. "Remus and I have been having a sordid affair behind your back since the beginning of term and now we've decided to declare our love for each other."

Remus—who was at the table in front of them with James—only heard the last part of their conversation, but nonetheless was quick to play along. He walked over to where Caroline was standing and very casually threw an arm over her shoulders, pulling her into his side as though it were something he did every day. Caroline had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing out loud.

"We're planning on having a June wedding," Remus informed Sirius with a grin. "Wanna be my best man?"

Sirius glared at his friend before rolling his eyes and shoving Remus back in the direction of his own desk where James stood laughing. "Ha ha, very funny, Mooney."

His friends went back to their own potion, chuckling under their breath as they went. Sirius turned back to Caroline and gave his partner a pointed look. "If it's not one of those knuckleheads, then who are you going on a date with?"

Caroline tapped her lips thoughtfully, eyes sparkling mischievously. "Hmm…I think I'll keep that part to myself."

"Oh, c'mon! At least give me a hint."

"Why do you care so much?" She countered, crossing her arms again.

Sirius turned his gaze downwards, shuffling from foot to foot. "No reason, just curious." He scratched the back of his neck, still keeping his gaze firmly on the potion instead of his partner. "I'm going with Marlene, so I guess I'll see you there."

The reminder of Sirius's general unavailability was like a sharp, puncturing pain inside her ribs. It broke Caroline's mind tumbling back to reality, reminding her the real reason why she'd agreed to this date in the first place. Her attachment to this messy haired, roguish boy was doing her no good and it was time—after years of wanting, pining from afar—to move on.

* * *

After her rather loud and boisterous conversation with Sirius in Potions, the entire school was abuzz with conversation over the fact that Slytherin's Ice Queen had finally decided to date someone. Who would risk it with her, they all wondered aloud. By dinner time, every student knew about Caroline's impending date and it was occupying most conversations within each house.

So, when Caroline walked into the Great Hall, all eyes immediately turned to her, voices going quiet for a brief moment before they began once again, talking in rapid yet hushed tones. She was no stranger to gossip about herself, so she rolled her shoulders back and continued on to the Slytherin table—the one place where the rumor seemed to be the least interesting. A few people gave her looks, but ultimately none of the members of her house said a word.

She began to tuck into dinner while she read a book— _Little Women_ , a classic she'd never had the opportunity to read until now. Halfway through the fifth chapter, she felt a pair of hands grab her by the shoulders and spin her to the right, causing her to drop the book on her lap.

It was, unsurprisingly, Dorcas. Caroline was perplexed, however, at seeing the annoyance on her friend's face.

"What's wrong?" Caroline asked, brows furrowed.

"Nothing," Dorcas sniffed, turning her nose up in the air. "Just the fact that my bestest friend in the entire world neglected to mention that she has a date tomorrow!"

"Shh!" Caroline hissed, covering Dorcas's mouth with a pale hand. She glanced around to see a number of people staring at them, no doubt ready to get more juicy details. Caroline mustered up her best scathing look and was satisfied when they went back to their own conversations.

Dorcas placed her hands on her hips. "Well? You better have a pretty good explanation for this one."

"I do!" Caroline replied, still feeling a few sets of eyes lingering on them. "Just…not here." She nodded towards a couple of third year Slytherins at the end of the table who were obviously eavesdropping but pretending (very badly) not to be. Gathering up her bag and stuffing _Little Women_ inside, she gestured for Dorcas to follow her.

They booked it out of the Great Hall and down the corridor, heading towards their familiar meeting place—the Astronomy Tower. This time (remembering the unfortunate incident their first night at Hogwarts this term) they made sure to listen for any couples rendezvousing in the tower. Fortunately, it was completely abandoned and the two girls sat down across from each other, Dorcas waiting expectantly with her arms crossed over her chest for Caroline to explain herself.

"I kind of—forgot about the date?" Caroline said, wincing at how that sounded. "It's not that I don't want to go with Adam—"

"You're going to Hogsmeade with Adam?" Dorcas squealed delightedly, clapping her hands together. "I'm such a brilliant matchmaker."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, we would all be lost without you— _anyway_ ," she declared rather loudly over her friends high pitched squeals. "I said yes earlier this week and then we just—didn't talk about it again, so I forgot."

Dorcas eyed her friend suspiciously. "But—you should be excited! How can you forget about a date you're excited for?"

"Because I'm not that excited about it?" When Dorcas started to reply, she held up a hand to stop her. "It's not that I don't like Adam or worry that I'll have a bad time. I'm sure it will be a perfectly wonderful date. I'm just—my heart's not in it, you know?"

Dorcas nodded understandingly. "It's hard to move on from feelings you've held onto for so long," she murmured. "However, it's not fair to string Adam along if you don't have any feelings for him at all. You can't use him like that."

Caroline sighed. "I know and I don't want to use him! I genuinely enjoy his company and I think he's funny and smart and kind, but…I just don't know if I'll ever be able to feel for Adam the things I feel for Sirius."

Her best friend reached out and placed a comforting arm around her shoulders, pulling Caroline into a tight hug. "Just give it time," she advised rather sagely for a girl who was squealing in a manner that would put children to shame not even five minutes before. "But you need to be up front with Adam about all of this—mess you've got going on."

Once again, Caroline heaved a great sigh, her head sagging down to rest on Dorcas's shoulder. "I know, I know. You're always right, Oh Wise One."

Dorcas chuckled before stopping with a sudden jolt. She sat straight up so quickly that it knocked Caroline off her shoulder and flat onto her back.

"What the hell, Dorcas?" Caroline muttered, rubbing her back as she pushed herself back up.

Slowly, Dorcas turned to face her friend with what could only be described as a nearly maniacal grin. "You know what this date means, right?"  
"What?"

"I get to give you…a makeover!" Dorcas squealed once again, only one octave away from shattering all the windows.

Caroline flopped down on the ground again with a loud groan. "Bloody hell, what have I gotten myself into."


	7. Ch 7: I'll Love You Till Tuesday

**Chapter 7: My Heart's a Flame (I'll Love You Till Tuesday)**

* * *

"Just a few finishing touches, I swear."

"You've promised that for probably the past hour, Dorcas! I'm meeting Adam in 15 minutes."

Caroline was slouched across from her best friend in the middle of the floor of Dorcas's dormitory. While the other Ravenclaw girls had readied themselves ages ago and headed out, Dorcas had forced her companion to stay perfectly still in this exact spot as she did both her hair and makeup. Each time the thought of moving even crossed Caroline's mind, she would receive a sharp reprimand from the utterly focused girl before her.

Since they were on the floor, Caroline had no idea what the results of this "makeover" were. All she knew was that if it took much longer, she would be late for her first official date in Hogsmeade. Just the thought made her stomach roll nervously.

"How are things going with your lover boy?" Dorcas asked as she shuffled through the pile of makeup at her side.

Caroline shrugged. "Fine, I guess."

"Fine?" Dorcas raised a perfectly groomed brow high enough to reach the hairline of her curly, chestnut locks. "Just fine?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Caroline said, shifting uncomfortably at the narrow-eyed way her friend was assessing every inch of her body. "What else is there to say?"

"Um, usually a lot. You sound as if you don't like him at all," Dorcas joked.

When silence followed her words, she stopped moving altogether to send Caroline a downright shocked look. "It's not that I don't like him!" Caroline quickly recovered, shaking her head as she struggled to put together the right words that could describe the juxtaposition she was in, emotionally. "It's just—he's…well, he's—"

"Not Sirius Black?" Dorcas offered in a way that might've sounded playful to an uninformed outsider, but her perfectly neutral expression told Caroline that she didn't like what she was hearing.

"Kind of, yeah," Caroline muttered, unable to resist the urge to move and tuck her legs to her chest. "I know it's crazy to hold on like this and I'm honestly not trying. I just find it hard to feel the same capacity of emotions that I feel when I'm around Sirius. I'm sure if I just spent enough time with Adam, I could learn to—"

Dorcas waved a hand, stopping that sentence in its tracks. "I'm just going to stop you there. If you have to 'learn' to feel something for Adam, he's probably not the guy for you. And it would be just mean to make him think there's even a chance when you're clearly this emotionally unavailable."

Caroline took in a deep breath, letting it out in heaving sigh that blew through her entire body. She laid her head in her hands and wanted nothing more than to beat herself senseless. Why, oh why did she have to be so emotionally invested in someone who would never feel the same way? Why couldn't she have felt like that for someone like Adam, nice and kind with no risk attached to him whatsoever? Why couldn't she feel a connection to someone who was safe?

"You're right," Caroline finally intoned, lifting up her head. "But what do I do now? I've got a date with the guy in about two minutes. Should I completely emasculate him before or after he's paid for my butterbeer?"

Dorcas grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her slightly. "You're a smart girl, Caroline. You'll figure out how to do the right thing." She reached down and held up a container of mascara. "Now, let me finish up this masterpiece."

* * *

Adam was, of course, as dashing as ever when Caroline finally met up with him outside of the Great Hall. He was a gentleman, complimenting her and offering an extra scarf if she needed one. To keep things light, Caroline made a joke about sticking to her true House alliances and then they were off, acting how they normally did when they spent time together.

However, halfway to Hogsmeade, Adam deciding to change things up a little bit. As Caroline was ranting about the recent events in her latest chapter of _Little Women_ , she felt a light brush against the backs of her fingers. She paid no mind to it, assuming Adam's hand had accidentally touched hers.

Then, it happened again, this time with a slower, more purposeful speed indicating that this was no accident.

 _He wants to hold my hand_ , Caroline thought, panic making her heart start to speed up, pounding against her ribs. She debated whether to move her hand, making it clear she had no interest in these endeavors—or to let things happen as they will.

She threw caution into the wind and opted for the latter, shifting her hand slightly so her pinky hooked slightly over his. Adam deftly turned his hand up and, almost instinctually, their fingers interlocked, swinging between them. Caroline was pleasantly surprised by the rough texture of Adam's hand, as well as how warm they were. She could feel a slight blush heating the tops of her cheeks, but found that she didn't mind all that much, shyly looking over at him from underneath her lashes.

When his eyes met hers, his face broke out into a wide, bright smile—the kind that any male model would kill for. The sight made her lips turn up into a matching grin, turning the two of them into quiet, grinning idiots as they stopped in the middle of the path.

"What was I saying?" Caroline murmured breathlessly.

Adam laughed. "I have no idea. Some strong opinion involving _Little Women_ that I'm sure my mother would disagree with."

Caroline chuckled. "Well, we can't all be brilliant educators like Elizabeth Milton."

And so the two continued on, holding hands and smiling all the way to Hogsmeade. Once they arrived, Adam graciously allowed Caroline to drag him into Borgin and Burkes for quite a while, offering his arms up to hold the multiple books that Caroline decided to purchase for some "light reading". He even offered to continue to carry her things after they'd left the shop, making their way to Honeydukes for a perfunctory candy purchase.

After a few more stops, they ended the date at the Three Broomsticks with some butterbeer and a cozy table situated right by a window overlooking the square. Caroline had spent much of the date in a bubble, enjoying the pleasant warmth that Adam's company provided. It was only when he made a clever, searching comment about a second date that Caroline was brought back to the cruel, real world. A world in which she was the insensitive Ice Queen leading on a boy was possibly one of the nicest people she'd ever met.

That quickly destroyed her buoyant demeanor as well as her appetite for butterbeer, slowly pushing the half-drank mug away from herself.

At her crestfallen expression, Adam became much more serious. "No second date, then?"

"I've had a wonderful time, Adam, I swear," Caroline began, eyes glued to her twiddling thumbs. "The thing is…I've been hung up on this other guy for a while now and I feel like it's unfair to you to commit to something, when I'm still emotionally invested in someone else. I don't want to use you as a way of getting over him—you're way too good of a guy to be treated that way."

Before Adam could respond, a loud, boisterous group came stomping through the door of the Three Broomsticks—a group Caroline quickly recognized as the Marauders, Dorcas, and the Gryffindor girls. The group spotted Caroline and waved, a few of them whistling and winking as they nodded over at Adam, who took the ribbing with a pleasant smile. She noticed, however, that two people were missing from the group—Sirius and Marlene.

Recalling Sirius's mention of their date at Hogsmeade, Caroline wouldn't have thought anything of it, except then she saw a lot of movement out of the corner of her eye. Turning slightly to look out the window, she saw Sirius and Marlene standing in the middle of Hogsmeade, very clearly shouting at one another. Both were gesticulating wildly, brows knitted closer and closer together each time the other person spoke.

When Marlene finally threw her hands up into the air and stormed off, leaving Sirius standing there alone with the audience they'd gathered around them of eavesdroppers, Caroline felt her heart lurch at the sight of his somber expression. His gray eyes—normally dancing with mirth and life—just looked lackluster.

Suddenly, Sirius glanced over at where Caroline was sitting and the two met gazes. Neither one made a move to look away, eyes completely locked on each other. Finally, Caroline tried to smile slightly in what she hoped was a sympathetic way, thinking she could provide him with some sort of comfort. But Sirius's gaze remained cold, growing even more closed off when he glanced off for a moment. Then he too stormed off, heading in the same direction that Marlene had went.

Caroline's heart sank—did she need any more proof than that? Clearly, Sirius wanted no comfort from her. Hell, the expression he wore looked almost _disgusted_.

"That's my competition I assumed?" Adam's voice broke through her reverie, making Caroline jump back around to face him. To her surprise, his expression wasn't angry or resentful, but rather sympathetic. Without breathing a word, he understood why Caroline's heart was hurting so much—but he also knew that there was nothing he could do about it.

"I…" Caroline began, but stopped abruptly when Adam leaned forward, taking her hands in his.

"You've had your turn to speak, now let me have a go," he gently ordered. "I understand that your heart belongs to someone else right now—but I want you to know that I am a very patient person, Caroline Grayson. I can take things slow if that's what you need—or stop dating altogether. It's your call. Just know that I'm not giving up on us, or rather, the possibility of us."

Caroline was completely floored. Of all the responses she'd expected—rage, humiliation, disgust—she certainly hadn't been thinking of _this_. "Why are you doing this?" She couldn't help but blurt out.

Adam ran his thumbs over the tops of her knuckles in smooth circles, smiling to himself. "Caroline, I've fancied you since we were in fifth year and you managed to single-handedly destroy the Hufflepuff Quidditch team—including myself—and win the match for Slytherin." He looked over at her again, his expression heartbreakingly fond. "I'm sorry it took me this long to get up the nerve to ask you out, but now that I have, I don't intend on taking it back just because I might have to wait on you to catch up on me, feelings wise."

Once again, Caroline was speechless. The idea of anyone wanting to be with her—really truly wanting her, Caroline Grayson—was almost unfathomable.

"For our second date," Caroline finally said, carefully watching the way Adam's expression shifted from serious to delighted in a flash. "I would be glad to regale you with tales of all the times I've single handedly destroyed another team."

Adam nodded his head, biting his bottom lip to hide a grin. "Oh, so there have been multiple times?"

"Too many to count, honestly," Caroline teased, not even bothering to hide her own glowing smile. As the two continued to joke and laugh, Caroline found herself feeling hope for the first time in a long time. Hope that maybe things could be better—that she could finally be with someone who wanted her just as much as she wanted him. And that thought lit a fire deep within her.

Little did Caroline know that, from across the square in Hogsmeade, Sirius Black was watching the happy couple; each laugh they shared made the green monster within him want to claw its way out. With a tired sigh, he turned and made his way back to Hogwarts alone, unnoticed by those around him.


	8. Ch 8: Love is Not Loving

**Chapter 8: Love is Not Loving**

* * *

Once again, Caroline found herself surrounded by Gryffindors and not totally sure of how it occurred. It was dinner time, the Great Hall packed out with children stuffing their faces with food as they chattered idly about their day at Hogsmeade, with a few first and second years watching enviously, still too young to venture to such places. At the Gryffindor table, Caroline was sat right in the middle with Dorcas on her left and Lily on her right. The Marauders were sat across from them, minus Sirius, who had been missing for most of dinner. Marlene wasn't there either, so Caroline and the others chalked it up to them finding a dark corner to makeup in after their blowout fight that afternoon.

Even when seated with the Gryffindors, Caroline often found herself blending into the background and watching everyone else interact while she ate. This night, however, James and Remus were determined to tease her about her date that afternoon.

"I can see the headline now," James chuckled, waving a half-eaten chicken leg in much the same manner he would a wand. "'Slytherin's Ice Princess Snags Hufflepuff Golden Boy'! That's some front page news for the Prophet, right there."

Caroline rolled her eyes, but the smile on her face indicated that she wasn't upset with him at all. "No one's being snagged, Potter," she retorted, making him laugh loudly. In retaliation for his incessant teasing, Caroline took a roll from the middle of the table and chucked it at him, hitting James right in the middle of his forehead.

The action caused an uproar of laughter from their dinner companions—including James himself, who hammed it up by feigning some form of a concussion.

"Serves you right, Potter," Lily teased. "Everyone knows that you don't make fun of Care and get away with it."

Caroline glanced over at Lily, feeling a hint of warmth at being called "Care" by the other girl, as only Dorcas was the one who did that. When the redhead noticed the look, she glanced over to give Caroline a small smile and a friendly wink. _Was this what having friends—_ real _friends—felt like?_ Caroline couldn't help but wonder.

"Who's making fun of Care?" Marlene asked as she came closer to the table, plopping down next to Lily and making a grab for what little chicken was left.

Caroline startled at the other girl's sudden appearance, but also at her use of the nickname. Glancing around at the group of people around her, Caroline questioned when she'd stopped paying enough attention to realize that she was befriending—if not already friends—with most everyone here. That epiphany was enough to send Caroline reeling—not unpleasantly.

No, more than that—the thought of having friends such as this group was enough to make Caroline feel incandescently, fervently happy. Elated, even.

"Where's Sirius?" Peter's question brought Caroline out of her spiraling thoughts and back to the present. The question had come out sounding almost sniveling, verging on whingeing. Unsurprising, as every time Caroline saw Peter, he seemed to be put upon and complaining about something.

Marlene shrugged while simultaneously taking a rather large bite of chicken. "How should I know?" Her question came with a light sprinkling of food pieces.

Everyone at the table exchanged a collectively confused look. "Well…you are dating, right?" Lily finally asked what they all were thinking.

Dropping the clean bone to the plate and sucking leftover food off her fingers in a way that still managed to be dignified, Marlene rolled her eyes and sighed. "We were never really 'dating', in the first place. But whatever it was, it's over now." Becoming less aloof and more irritated, she added, "So no more questions about Sirius, alright? I'm not keeping up with him anymore."

At her sharp remark, a brief and painfully tense silence followed before Dorcas broke it, bringing up some ridiculous thing she'd seen Slughorn do the other day in class, causing everyone to commiserate on how insufferable the man is.

As the table exchanged various Slughorn related stories, Lily turned and lightly tapped Caroline on the arm, getting her attention. They angled themselves towards each other slightly, effectively creating a little bubble where just the two of them could talk.

"I was wondering if you had any plans tonight?" Lily asked gently. "The girls and I were planning on having a sleepover up in Gryffindor tower."

Caroline bit her lip. "Um, I don't know, I—"

"Dorcas is going to be there!" Lily quickly added, hoping that might sway Caroline enough to come. "I just feel like there's this barrier between us and you, Caroline. And it's no one's doing, per say, but I would really like to become friends—and I know the other girls feel the same way."

"Really?" Caroline couldn't stop from sounding completely incredulous.

Lily tucked a strand of ginger hair behind her ear, ducking her head down a bit. "I know it probably feels like we're supposed to not getting along—being in rival houses and all that, but I think you're cool and want to be friends." She paused and looked almost timid in asking, "Would that be alright with you?"

Caroline, still feeling a bit of shock, sputtered out, "I—yeah, ok. Sounds fun, I'll be there."

"Great!" Lily exclaimed.

* * *

Not long after, Caroline excused herself from the table and headed over to the Dungeons to get some clothes and such for the sleepover. It felt almost ridiculous, going to a sleepover at the age of 16, yet here she was. Since she wasn't in much of a hurry, Caroline decided to take the long way there, ambling through the mostly empty halls as her thoughts ran a mile a minute.

Her non-stop, inner monologue only stopped when she saw a familiar figure sat on the floor in a dark alcove. Sirius had his head angled downwards, his hair falling around his face like a silky, ink-colored curtain. Careful to make her approach obvious, she made her steps a bit louder to alert him that he wasn't alone.

Sirius only glanced up slightly to give her a bit of a nod, before going back to his former, rather pathetic position. Caroline came to a stop in front of him and, when he refused to look up again, took a seat on the ground with him.

Neither one spoke for a moment, simply sitting in the silence. It wasn't uncomfortable, just two people getting lost in their own thoughts together. Finally, Caroline spoke up.

"Are you alright?"

Judging by his bemused expression, that was a rather loaded question to ask. Rubbing a hand thoughtfully across his jaw, Sirius finally looked up to make eye contact with her.

"As I'm sure you've heard by now, Marlene and I broke up," he stated, voice carefully bereft of any form of emotion.

So he was refusing to acknowledge the fact that Caroline had seen their fight in the square? And the intense eye contact that came afterwards? Caroline kept up with his (if a bit confusing) choice to feign ignorance and nodded. "She told everyone at dinner."

"The about Marlene is," Sirius began, gaze moving upward so that he was staring up at the ceiling. It stared at it intently, as though mentally laying out all his thoughts there where he could see them, organized and perfectly positioned. "She doesn't understand the real world—the big mess that our world is in right now. And she doesn't want to, for that matter! She wants to just—just keep her head in the sand and wish it all away. And I can't understand that; her innate ability to ignore reality is astounding to me. Because it seems to be all I can think about these days—people dying, left and right. Families murdered for, for no reason at all!"

Caroline had no idea this kind of deep, dark thoughts were swirling around in this boy's head. She'd always thought him to be rather carefree—to the point that he was almost aloof. "We're all still very young," Caroline pointed out. "Marlene is most likely the norm in that sense. What teenager wants to think about death and destruction? She's much happier living life that way, I'm sure."

"I know that, I do," Sirius acknowledged, finally moving his gaze back to Caroline, as though affirming once again that this was a conversation rather than a lecture. "But I can't seem to stop myself. At night, I'll close my eyes and all I see is headlines from the Prophet announcing the latest attack, that the Wizarding World is doomed. You know what I mean? I can't just push all that aside and focusing on my latest Charms assignment."

Merlin, did Caroline want to tell him then and there how much she understood. How she would wake up in a cold sweat at night, having just vividly seen the death of a family of strangers—sometimes, even worse, the death of someone that she knew. She knew all too well the pain of having a brain that refused to let her forget about what was happening outside the protected walls of Hogwarts.

But she knew that such a confession wasn't possible. She couldn't reveal such a deep, dark secret to Sirius. So instead, she simply stayed silent and became a metaphorical shoulder for Sirius to unload his problems onto.

"I ran into my brother," Sirius blurted out after a good ten minutes of complete silence, where he stared off into nowhere while Caroline watched. The sudden admission made her jump slightly, having been given no warning to him talking again.

Caroline knew—as did every student at Hogwarts—that the Black brothers were not on speaking terms. They hadn't been very close before, but in the last year had stopped all contact when Sirius moved out (read: was kicked out) of their family home. It had been quite the scandal at the end of last year, watching the two boys standoff in a stalemate every time they were near each other.

To Caroline, the sight was upsetting rather than scandalous. Seeing two brothers driven apart by the war and the pureblood ideologies of their parents was upsetting. From Sirius' perspective, she understood how stifling such a hateful environment could be. But she also could see it from Regulus' point of view—it was hard to break away from the ideals you were raised with and recognize that your parents aren't perfect, that they too are capable of being wrong or making mistakes.

"We got into a bit of a shouting match," Sirius continued on, running a hand through his hair. "About the usual stuff, you know. He calls me a blood traitor and a fool. I reply that he's a sheep, mindlessly following the ideologies of a madman. Round and round we go until we're finally at each other's throats, wands raised."

Caroline placed a hand on his shoulder. "No one got hurt, though?"

Sirius shook his head. "No, it never came to that. His cronies stepped in to break it up before anything escalated."

"I know it's frustrating, but Regulus is just lost and confused. He's staying with the world he knows, even if it's vicious and cold-blooded, because it's too scary to change," Caroline pointed out as she kept her hand on his shoulder, going for being reassuring. In return, her hand was violently shaken off as Sirius' head whipped around to give her an incredulous look, as though he couldn't believe those words had just come out of her mouth.

"Please! He knows exactly what he's choosing and he believes in it just as much as my parents do," Sirius snapped, eyes ablaze with a fury she hadn't ever seen in him before. "If I'm capable of seeing sense—when I grew up there, same as him, was raised exactly the same way—then so can he. He just chooses not to."

Caroline wanted to protest, to say that people make very poor decisions when they're scared. But she knew it would fall on deaf ears, as Sirius was a Gryffindor through and through. The idea of not being brave and pushing through your fears was almost incomprehensible to him.

So instead, she decided it was time to end this conversation before she said something else to upset Sirius. "I'd better go," Caroline murmured, pushing up to her feet and dusting off her hands. "I have a soiree in the Gryffindor tower soon."

Sirius was still looking down at the ground, so Caroline took that as a curt dismissal and turned to leave. Only when she walked a couple steps away, Sirius suddenly called out, "Caroline!"

Turning around slowly, she gave the boy a quizzical look.

"I forgot to mention this earlier," Sirius said, face half-hidden by his mane of hair. "But congratulations! I hear you've ensnared the Golden Boy of Hufflepuff. I didn't think you had it in you." To someone else, the words might've sounded light, teasing even. But Caroline could hear the sour lilt in his tone, the way his smile—when he finally made eye contact with her—was just a bit too tight. He was _mocking_ her.

His words cut deep, making it feel as though there was a butcher's knife slowly turning in her stomach. Her eyes teared up a bit, but Caroline looked down so that Sirius wouldn't be able to see how much he'd affected her. She blinked rapidly, attempting to push the tears away.

Finally, she looked up again and painted on a wide, dazzling smile. "All in a day's work," she managed to choke out and then turned on her heel and fled the scene, this time going directly to the dungeons and up to her dormitory before she finally let those pesky tears fall.

Little did Caroline know that, just like she could see the malice behind Sirius' words, he could see the pain behind hers.

* * *

"Please tell me you're not seriously painting your nails that _ghastly_ yellow color! I understand you're a Hufflepuff, Mary, but this is just taking it too far!"

Each of the girls situated on the floor of the dormitory in Gryffindor tower exchanged a shrewd look—albeit fondly—at Dorcas' melodramatic cry. The first thing on the agenda perfectly organized and color coded by Lily was to paint each other's nails. Since they had an odd number of girls, Lily volunteered to paint her own before pairing them off.

Since Dorcas insisted upon "fixing" Mary's taste in nail polish, Caroline ended up with Marlene and, though hesitant to be in such close proximity to a girl she'd often resented, was pleasantly surprised by her skill. After painting Caroline's nails a lilac color with perfect precision, they'd switched off and Caroline was currently painting the other girl's nails a deep, maroon color—she'd jokingly stated that it was in honor of her house colors.

With Lily's record player softly crooning the dulcet tones of some Muggle folk singer, Caroline found herself actually having a good time. She was happy to find herself rather comfortable to sit in the little makeshift circle they'd created, listening to them chatter and gossip while she meticulously coated each of Marlene's nails.

As do most sleepovers, the conversation eventually turned to boys. "Lily," Dorcas said, her dark eyes glinting mischievously. "How are things going with your dear, bespectacled boy?"

Normally, the mention of James Potter made Lily snap and flush bright red with pure rage. This time, however, the girl's cheeks were lightly tinted pink as she suddenly became very focused on a particular nail she was filing. The reaction made all the others cackle, which only further increased the spread of Lily's blush.

"Shut up!" She finally snapped, though the smile on her face negated any possibility of true crossness. "He's just so, so maddening!"

"Which is more maddening," Marlene drawled, "the irresistible urge to run your fingers through that bird's nest on his head or the equally pressing desire to plant one on his stupid face?"

Lily sighed, shaking her head. "That is an impossible question to answer because, as you said, both are very tempting."

Everyone once again broke out in raucous laughter, causing one Gryffindor girl who wasn't part of their sleepover to send them a rather dirty look.

"Are my ears playing tricks on me or did I just here prim and proper Lily Evans admit to wanting—dare I even say it—a _snog_?!" Mary mocked, placing a hand onto her chest as though to recover from the sheer shock of it all.

Her performance earned a pillow to the face from prim and proper Lily Evans.

"Being serious, though," Lily finally stated. "James won't take a hint! I drop little comments now and then about being interested and it's like talking to a wall." After a slight paused, she added a bit quieter, "Maybe he's just not interested anymore."

"Please!" Dorcas scoffed, looking up from Mary's nails to give Lily the most derisive look that anyone has ever seen, eyebrows raised up high to further emphasize how much she didn't believe that statement. "James Potter not being interested in Lily Evans is like a fish living on land—it makes virtually no sense."

Mary nudged Lily's leg with hers, giving her a sympathetic smile. "I think those Marauder boys are just dense. Take Remus—I've been hinting for weeks that I wanted to go to Hogsmeade with him. What does he do? Invite me and all of our friends on a 'fun outing' instead." She blew out a sigh, blowing her bangs up with a puff.

"Well, the issue with Sirius was never about him being dense," Marlene finally piped up. Caroline couldn't help but glance up with interest from under her lashes. "He was just so… _stubborn!_ He had this set idea of how we should be together, of how things had to be—hell, how I was supposed to be! And in the end, it was just too infuriating to go on any longer."

Thinking back to her conversation with Sirius that evening, Caroline understood how that could be frustrating. When he was convinced of something, he would never let go of it. Like when Caroline challenged the way he thought of Regulus—it was impossible to get him to even consider something different than what he believed.

"I'm sorry things didn't work out," Mary told Marlene.

The other girl shrugged, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Things were never very serious between us—pun very much not intended." The others chuckled lightly. Marlene seemed to weigh over what she wanted to say next, biting her lip and looking over each of them in a very careful manner. "I think he might have feelings for someone else, anyway."

This most definitely got Caroline's attention, causing her to almost knock over the nail polish beside her leg. The other girls were just as shocked, each looking at Marlene with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"No!"

"How do you know?"

Marlene shrugged. "It always felt like I was being compared to someone else. Whenever I screwed up or said something that upset him, there was always this underlying message to his tone that said, 'Well, _so-and-so_ wouldn't have done that.' It was hard feeling like his second choice all the time."

Dorcas leaned in closer, now thoroughly forgetting about Mary's half-painted nails. "Do you know who it was? We could go teepee her dorm—unless it's a Ravenclaw, in which case I refuse to do that to myself."

Marlene laughed, shaking her head. "Not necessary. Like I said, Sirius and I were very casual in the first place. I was mostly just pissed off that he put me through all that bullshit. Wasting my time and stuff."

"You didn't answer the first question," Lily pointed out, raising her eyebrows. "So you do know who it is?"

The corner of Marlene's mouth ticked up slightly. "It doesn't matter." With that, she dropped the subject altogether by turning back to face a slightly flabbergasted Caroline, holding out her hands for the final coats of polish.

The other girls took the hint, shifting the conversation to other juicy gossip points—who was dating who, some embarrassing incident that a third year girl was part of, and the like. Meanwhile, Marlene and Caroline stayed rather quiet, until the latter was finished with her nail masterpiece.

Holding up her hands to admire them, Marlene grinned. "You have a true talent, Care," she said, wiggling her fingers lightly to watch the way the light glinted off each glossy nail.

"It's a gift," Caroline joked, shrugging.

Marlene paused hesitantly, eyeing Caroline. "I hope this isn't too weird, but I was wondering if I could ask about your Muggle family? I know it sounds creepy, but I was thinking about doing what your mum did and going off to live in the Muggle world for a while after graduation—just to have the experience, you know?"

Caroline wasn't surprised by how much Marlene already knew about her mother—it was a story that many students knew. Everyone had heard about Caroline's pure blood mother who abandoned her family's elitist lifestyle to live as a Muggle and marry a Muggle man.

"It's not weird, people are pretty curious about it all the time," Caroline assured the other girl, who was hanging off her each and every word. "I'm not quite sure what to tell you, though. Life in the Partridge household—that's my step-dad's last name—is pretty tame."

"Well, let's start with your step-dad. How did they meet?"

Caroline laughed. "At a coffee shop that my mum tried working at her first few weeks living in London. She was terrible at her job and screwed up his coffee order—three times. But he didn't care because he spent the entire time talking to her." It was a story that she'd heard many times—but the ending never got old.

"And when Henry finally got up the nerve to ask for my phone number," Caroline's mother would always say. "I had to politely inform him that I had no phone whatsoever, to which he replied that he'd just have to keep coming back to the coffee shop until I got enough money to get one."

Marlene found that tidbit particularly amusing, a genuine bright smile lighting up her face rather than her usual smirk. "That's so adorable!"

"They think so too," Caroline quipped, grinning as well. "My little sister, Ellie, loves hearing that story. Henry's her dad, so there's a bit more meaning to it."

"Is Ellie a Muggle as well? Or is she a witch like you?"

"A witch, through and through," Caroline stated proudly. "But she's only six, so it'll be quite some time before she ends up at Hogwarts. Right now she's attending a Muggle primary school, trying to live a 'normal' life until she gets her letter."

"And what does your mum do?" Marlene asked, leaning back against the bed behind her.

"She writes children's books. It's a pretty easy job, means she gets to stay home with Ellie and stuff. But she had loads of random jobs in the beginning—said she wanted the full 'Muggle' experience, whatever that means."

"Merlin!" Marlene muttered, running a hand through her hair. "It's so cool that she was able to just pack everything up and move into a Muggle flat, live like a Muggle would. To make that transition so smooth—I don't know if I could do it to be honest."

Caroline shrugged. "Well, I'm sure it wasn't as easy as she makes it out to be now, but she basically just took it one step at a time."

"But I wouldn't even know where to start, you know!" Marlene added. "Like, how the hell do you even get a flat in London? Hell if I know."

Feeling possessed by some unknown force, Caroline found herself saying, "If you really want to do that, I'd be glad to help you figure it out."

The offer made Marlene's entire face light up. "Really? I would love that!" She said, sitting up a bit higher. "Thank you for offering at all, even if it doesn't end up happening."

"No problem," Caroline replied, surprised that she actually meant it. When had Marlene become someone that she felt this comfortable with? At what point did this relationship stop feeling like a rivalry?

Maybe it had never been a rivalry in the first place, Caroline realized. The taunts and jeers of her fellow classmates had convinced her that no one could want to befriend her. Without realizing it, Caroline had taken those insults to heart and convinced herself that any offers of friendship from people like Marlene, Lily, and Mary could never be genuine. And oh, what a tragedy that was. To be robbed of real friendships like this.


	9. Ch 9: We Burnt One Hundred Days

**Chapter 9: We Burnt One Hundred Days**

 _Caroline was at the entrance of Knockturn Alley, eyes staring out into the dark abyss that the street became at night. Even during the day, Knockturn had seemed to be shrouded in depressing darkness and shadows. Had the sun ever shined on such a place? If so, Caroline found it hard to believe—especially as she stood there alone, in the middle of the night, wearing only her pajamas and a robe._

 _Glancing around, she was unsure why she'd been brought to such a place. What was the significance of Knockturn Alley? Besides being one of the dodgiest sites to conduct business._

 _The sound of approaching footsteps startled her, causing Caroline to duck down into the nearest alcove and hunch close to the ground. She watched as a group of four witches and wizards passed by her in rapid succession. They were all clad in black and gray robes, their wands held up in a defensive stance as they lithely moved through the entrance and down the alley. At the end of the group, a woman came to stop for a moment to survey the group, moonlight shining on her face. She was quite masculine in appearance, her body tall and stocky with cropped white-blond hair. Caroline was more focused, though, on the thin scar that ran across the woman's face. It was a jagged line that began just above her left eyebrow and ended across her face near the right side of her jaw._

 _The other members of the group turned back to look at her, as though deferring for further instructions. "The Spiny Serpent," she murmured quietly. "A reported hotspot, but left with only two guards at night. We get in and out as quickly and quietly as possible. Grab anyone you can and if you can't…" Her sharp azure eyes lingered on each person, making a point of letting the tension hang in the air. "…well, you know what to do."_

 _A sudden realization dawned on Caroline._ Aurors _, she thought as she slowly stood up and moved to follow them from a distance_. They must be on some sort of raid. But if I'm seeing this—that can't mean good things for them. I'm never brought in unless things are about to go horribly wrong.

 _Caroline, despite prior experience teaching her that she was incapable of being seen or heard during these dreams, kept a relatively safe distance from the group as she followed them. She froze up any time they did, before accelerating her pace in tandem with their own footsteps. There was a methodical rhythm to their movements that resembled a dance—in a morbid way, Caroline enjoyed mimicking the swift grace of the Aurors._

 _Silent as the grave and light as a feather, they gradually consumed by the darkness of Knockturn Alley, making it more and more difficult to observe their surroundings. Finally—just as Caroline wondered how they planned on performing a raid without the assistance of sight—the woman in charge halted in front of a large, dark green door with a brass knocker in the shape of a serpent's head mid-attack, its jaw dropped open to reveal a set of gleaming fangs. The windows of the shop were barred and blacked out, its dust-covered state an indicator of infrequent use—or so they would have any passers-by believe. Making eye contact with each individual on the team, the woman mouthed, "Three…two...one!" On the final count, she unlocked the door and the Aurors went rushing in, fanning out._

 _Caroline watched from her hiding place around the corner as the group charged in. Almost immediately, the inside of the building began to light up with spells as she heard curses being cast over and over. Clutching the brick wall in front of her, Caroline debated whether or not to get closer, to watch what was going on. Even from her place outside, she knew a small battle was being fought, as the shouts of the Aurors became more and more frantic. Did she dare watch this poor group of witches and wizards fight to stay alive?_

 _Suddenly, the world went silent. The only sound Caroline could make out was her own breathing, which was verging on hyperventilation. The building was once again completely dark and all fighting had ceased. Finally resolving to take a look, Caroline carefully made her way over to the still open door, hoping against hope that she would find a successful mission rather than a massacre._

 _As she stepped through the doorway and squinted to see through the dark, Caroline remembered her previous thought: her dreams rarely had happy endings these days._

 _On the ground lay the bodies of three of the Aurors on the mission, eyes permanently planted upwards towards the sky. Each had wands clutched in their hands, indicating they'd put up a fight to the very end. Caroline was horrified to find that their deaths did little to shake her, no longer brought to tears at the sight of such unbridled carnage. Was she truly so desensitized to these dreams that she'd lost the ability to feel sympathy for those that suffered?_

 _It was better for her own mental health, Caroline tried to rationalize with herself as she carefully stepped over the Aurors' bodies and made her way deeper into the building. From what little she could make out, this place had obviously once been an apartment or living space—the room she'd entered was a kitchen and she was now making her way through the living room, looking for anyone else in the party._

 _She found another Auror face down between a couch and coffee table, his right arm stretched out as though reaching for something just beyond his reach. Caroline refused to linger too long and kept walking, on the lookout for the woman with the scar, as she was the only member of the party that she'd yet to find._

 _Moving into a narrow hallway, Caroline noticed a door at the end of the small walkway that was slightly ajar. Even stranger, there was the barest amount of light being emanated from the crack in the door. A dreaded shred of hope sparked up in Caroline's chest and she quickly made her way to the door, unable to wish that at least one person on the mission had survived. She peeked through the opening in the door and any hope she'd gained was immediately shattered as she came to stare into the now lifeless blue eyes she'd seen earlier._

 _Somehow, in death, the scar on the female Auror's face was far less jarring than when alive. Perhaps because it no longer mattered what this woman had survived previously, she was gone now._

* * *

Caroline awoke with a start, her eyes flying open and frantically searching her surroundings for some kind of bearings. Chest rising and falling at a frenzied pace, she sat up and looked around. She was definitely not in the Slytherin dorms, as this room was instead decked out in red and gold. Upon spying the sleeping bodies of her friends, the events of the previous night came rushing back.

Now far from the gripping terror of her dream, Caroline was able to take in a few steadying breaths, allow herself a moment to calm down. Even as the dream became less and less real—leaving the forefront of her mind piece by piece—she could still see the glassy blue eyes of the lead Auror, framed by a jagged scar. Caroline wondered if she was too late; was she seeing the event as it happened—such as the death of her classmate—or was her dream an opportunity to do some good for once?

Glancing up at the clock mounted on the far wall, Caroline nearly jumped out of her skin. Since it was a weekend, Caroline had scheduled the first tryouts for Slytherin's Quidditch team that morning. Jumping into action, Caroline frantically ran around the room gathering her things and changing clothes in a whirlwind of movement, all while trying to avoid waking any of the other girls.

She moved towards the door and was about to run out when she realized how confused the other girls might be to finding her gone. As Caroline now considered them her friends—if not that, then well on their way to being so—she didn't want them to think she'd bailed. Swiftly, she grabbed a quill and spare sheet of paper from Lily's school bag—hopefully, the other girl would understand—and jotted down a quick note, placing it beside Dorcas.

 _Had to run. Forgot I scheduled Quidditch tryouts for this morning. See you around lunch, assuming I haven't hexed anyone. –Caroline_

* * *

Caroline came skirting onto the Quidditch pitch with just barely a minute to spare, finding most of the players to already be assembled and waiting for her. The tryouts themselves were a bit of a formality—the only positions that needed filling were Seeker and a new Beater. Emma Vanity had been Captain and Seeker last year, her final year, and had passed the baton to Caroline—albeit grudgingly.

While Caroline's family had made her very few friends in her own House, none could deny her ability at the game of Quidditch. Thus, during games and practice was the only time in which Caroline was treated somewhat decently—after all, she had won them the Quidditch cup last year. Vanity had allowed her to become Captain due to her skills, but not without giving Caroline a few dirty looks as a reminder that this didn't change her mother's status as a defector and blood traitor.

On the field that morning was the guaranteed members of the team—those who had played last year and managed to not monumentally screw it up—along with a handful of potential players, vying for one of the open positions.

Clearing her throat, Caroline called out, "I'll be honest with you all, most of this try-out is a formality. If you played last year, you have your spot and I don't plan on changing anything on that front. As for the newbies, I'd like to split you up. If you're trying out for the position of Seeker, move to the right. If you want to be a Beater, move to the left."

She watched as two people moved to the right and the remaining three moved to the left. Caroline also didn't fail to notice that one of the two potential Seekers was Sirius's brother, Regulus. She didn't know him very well—as a perfect pureblood, he'd made a point of keeping his distance—but she'd never seen him behave in any way that might be considered particularly brutish. All Caroline could really figure out was that he lacked the knack many of the male Slytherins' had for unnecessary cruelty towards classmates.

"This should work out perfectly," Caroline beamed. "We're going to have a mini Quidditch game as the tryout. I'll watch you play, decide if you're shit or not, and then announce my picks at the end." She quickly assigned the players teams, sending one half of the team over with Regulus as their Seeker and one of the potential Beaters and assigning the other half with the rest of the players.

As she stood off to the side of the pitch, it quickly became clear who was staying and who was going. Right off the bat, two of the players trying out for the Beater position were obviously incapable of hitting the side of a tree with their bat, let alone a moving bludger. The other Beater wasn't much better, but Caroline could see enough potential in her—after all, she at least hit the bludger occasionally (sometimes at her own team, however, that was unimportant at the moment).

However, what Caroline was really focused on was Regulus. He was surprisingly good as a Seeker. Even from the start, Caroline could tell that he was capable of pulling away from the chaos of Chasers and bludgers and focusing on the bigger picture—finding the Snitch. While he would help his teammates on occasion, he didn't allow their scrimmages to affect his own goal.

At the end of the game, Regulus caught the snitch with his opponent hot on his tail and the players all came flying down to meet Caroline and find out the results.

"Well, that was a great game, you guys. I could blather on about teamwork and how you gave it your all, but none of you care about that. I'll cut to the chase: our new Beater will be Burke and Black will be taking over as Seeker," Caroline stated clearly, feeling a bit guilty as the other players' shoulders slumped down slightly. "Thanks for coming out today. Practices will start next Thursday evening—don't be late, we've got a cup to defend this year."

Everyone split up after that and went on their way, some of the players going to welcome the new ones while some of the rejected players grumbled and sent scathing looks Caroline's way. As she went to leave herself and possibly meet up with Dorcas, Caroline noticed that Regulus was walking by himself. Picking up the pace, she moved to catch up with him.

"Black!" She called out, coming to a stop beside him. He turned to look at her, eyebrows raised as he took in her somewhat disheveled appearance. She hadn't had much time between leaving Gryffindor tower and tryouts to straighten herself out. "I just wanted to say welcome to the team and that I was really impressed with your skills out there today. Have you played on a team before?"

Rather than responding, Regulus took a moment to once again look her up and down before muttering derisively, "Do you always show up to practice looking like… _this_?"

"No one cares what you look like on a Quidditch pitch," Caroline replied, shrugging off his thinly veiled attempt to insult her. She'd encountered far better wordsmiths than Regulus—his words didn't even get a twinge of annoyance out of her.

"My mother always emphasizes the importance of looking one's best," he said, keeping his eyes straight ahead. "Being raised by a mother like yours, I'm assuming you never received much guidance when it came to basic manners or any other form of etiquette that distinguishes humans from animals."

Now that certainly got more than a twinge. "Did those basic manners include fucking your cousins? Because I hear your mother is rather adept at that."

Regulus whirled around on her in a flash, face flushed red with rage as he clutched his wand in his hand tightly. "Shut it, Grayson."

"Did I misread the situation?" Caroline asked sarcastically, her smile saccharine sweet. "How silly of me. See, I thought you were making a crack about my mother and felt it was only apt that I counter with one of my own about yours. It's not as fun of a game when I'm better at it, though, is it?"

"Shut up, Grayson!" Regulus snapped, his dark eyes close to boiling over with anger.

"Alright, I'll admit to an advantage since your mother offers up _so_ much more material—"

The younger boy had his wand up in a flash, holding it a few centimeters away from her face. "People like you—insignificant, no good, _blood traitors_ —do not get to insult people like _me_."

 _What a drama queen_ , Caroline thought. _Now I really see the resemblance with Sirius._ "People like you? What group would that be, entitled brats or individuals with perpetual sticks up their arse?"

Flicking a strand of inky black hair out of his face, Regulus sneered, "You have a lot to say for a witch with a wand in her face. It would be in your best interest to start groveling now to avoid any permanent damage to that smart mouth of yours."

Rather than cower back as he'd hoped, Caroline took a step even closer to him, intentionally leaning forward so that his wand was a hair's width from touching her cheek. The deliberate movement—as well as her choice to never break eye contact with him—had Regulus reeling slightly, just barely stopping himself from taking a step back from her.

"You want to know why I'm not scared, Black? Why I keep running my 'smart mouth', as you kindly put it?" Caroline taunted, her mouth pulling up into a slight smirk. Her light eyes tracked the way Regulus's expression remained composed, yet his throat gulped down slightly. "Because I know that if you planned on cursing me, you would've done it already. Besides, everyone knows what happened to the last wizard who tried to mess with me."

She intentionally kept her statement vague, as she knew the rumors surrounding her tussle with a fifth year had been far more exaggerated than the reality. Caroline could only hope that Regulus had heard a particularly gruesome version of the story—such as the one where she'd used an Unforgivable on the other student and only managed to evade expulsion by bribing the Headmaster.

Regardless of whatever rendition he'd heard, the thinly veiled threat was enough to have Regulus's eyes flash with something akin to fear before he was dropping his arm with a huff and stalking away. Caroline watched him go, wondering how such a loathsome boy could share the same genetic background as the one she'd mooned over for nearly the entirety of her Hogwarts career. Rolling her shoulders and shaking out her limbs, Caroline continued back to the castle.

Quidditch tryouts and her little stand-off with Regulus had distracted her from more important things. Namely, finding Dumbledore and informing him of the contents of her dream. If there was any chance that she could save those Aurors, she had to take it. Even if it meant resigning herself to a life of poking and prodding by Dumbledore, she would gladly endure it all to have these visions and dreams do something good for once—rather than just remind her of all the bad going on in the Wizarding world.

* * *

It was only once Caroline arrived in front of the gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's tower and office that she realized the statue required a password to let her go up. A password that she most definitely did not have. Furthermore, she knew virtually nothing about Dumbledore and how his mind worked, thus making it impossible for her to even come close to guessing what the password might be.

 _Being the most powerful and hallowed wizard in this day and age, Dumbledore most likely chose some sort of complex password in Latin or another dead language,_ Caroline thought to herself. This led her to wonder what she might choose as a password if she had her own tower in Hogwarts.

"Knowing me," she muttered out loud to the empty corridor. "I'd pick something idiotic like 'sugar quills.'"

As soon as those final words passed her lips, the gargoyle suddenly began to move, spinning upwards to reveal a winding staircase that would take you up to the Headmaster's office. Caroline scrambled to get her jaw from off the floor and quickly ran up the steps. It wasn't every day you learned that the world's most respected wizard had a penchant for Honeydukes.

She stepped off the stairs and walked into the wide circular room that was the Headmaster's office. Walking further into the large room, Caroline gazed around in wonder. She'd never actually been up to the Headmaster's office before—such a privilege was reserved for the very best and very worst of the student population. The walls were covered in portraits of previous Headmasters, all of whom were snoozing away (most likely catching up on the sleep they'd lost while working as headmaster or headmistress).

In addition to the portraits, there was a rather awe-inspiring number of books—enough to be classified as a small library. Twin staircases at the back of the room could be used to reach some of the higher shelves of books. The room was also littered with various silver, spindly contraptions, some of them emitting unknown smoke substances. In the center of the room was a large, claw-footed desk where the Sorting Hat was perched, along with a collection of knick-knacks that Caroline couldn't identify.

"Miss Grayson?" A soft voice inquired from behind her.

Jumping up, Caroline whipped around to find Dumbledore looking at her over his half-moon glasses. Though his expression appeared neutral, she could've sworn his eyes were sparkling mischievously, almost as if he were laughing at her startled reaction.

Attempting to maintain some sense of decorum, Caroline said, "I'm sorry for intruding, Professor, but I need your help."

The older man's expression immediately sobered as he nodded. "Of course. How may I be of assistance?"

Unsure of how to go about this delicately, Caroline decided on being as direct and blunt as possible. "I had another one of those dreams—or visions, whatever you want to call them. I need to know if what I've seen has happened yet, to see if I can stop it."

"Tell me about your dream, Miss Grayson," Dumbledore asked.

She did so, trying to scrounge up any little detail she could. Steadily and calmly, Caroline described the mission as well as its outcome. It was difficult to get specific about the intel or details of the mission, as she'd only witnessed the eventual outcome of it all. However, she noticed the way Dumbledore's eyes seemed to flash at the mention of the female Auror with the large scar.

After finishing her story, Dumbledore began, "I can confidently say, Miss Grayson, that this event has not occurred yet. The woman you described with the scar is one of the top Aurors in the Ministry at the moment—Yvonne Triggs—and she is very much alive." His words caused Caroline to let out a deep sigh of relief, her entire body sagging down from it. "That being said, it doesn't exclude this event from the near future. If you'll make yourself comfortable, Miss Grayson, I have to contact the Ministry and inquire after any planned missions that match the description you gave."

With that, the Headmaster left Caroline alone in his office. She took his offer and sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk, her mind still reeling. This dream hadn't come to pass yet—and she might actually have a chance at stopping it from occurring at all! This revelation gave her such a deep sense of relief because it gave her hope at preventing whatever awful thing she'd seen in Dorcas's future. Caroline refused to allow anything bad to happen to her best friend—she would fight her hardest to stop such an event from coming to fruition, no matter what it took.

Eventually, Dumbledore returned with more information from the Ministry. A mission matching the one Caroline described was set to be carried out next week. Dumbledore, rather than reveal that a student with Seer abilities had a vision about the mission, pretended to have an informant "on the inside" and cautioned the Aurors against the mission—or, at the very least, advised them to be warier of the Spiny Serpent and its inhabitants.

"You may very well have saved five lives today, Miss Grayson," the Headmaster finished, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

"It feels good to be helping for once, rather than simply watching everything fall apart," Caroline admitted, feeling comfortable talking about her visions for the first time since they started. "It almost makes getting them easier, knowing I have the chance to change the outcome."

She rose up from her seat with the intention of saying goodbye and heading on her way, when the Headmaster held up a spindly hand to stop her. "I have decided," he began, nodding for Caroline to sit down once more, which she did, "that it would be best for you to have a…teacher, of sorts. It is clear these 'visions' of yours are not stopping anytime soon, therefore you will need guidance in dealing with them."

Caroline was completely shocked. "But sir, how am I supposed to find a teacher for this? I don't really even understand what these visions are or why I've suddenly started getting them."

"Those are questions that a Seer might be able to help find an answer for you. I have a few options in mind at the moment, but I will notify you as soon as I have chosen your teacher."

"Of course, sir. Thank you," Caroline replied, grateful no matter how much the idea confused her.

What was the purpose of a teacher? To harness these visions? Caroline had no interested in going deeper into this part of her mind that had been unlocked. If anything, she wanted to seal it back up and return to a life where everything was much simpler for her. She wanted to live in a world where her biggest obstacle was strategizing how to beat Gryffindor in Quidditch.

Yet it was clear that the decision to use these visions, to learn more about them, was no longer up to her. That job had been taken over by the Headmaster. Caroline could only hope that the older man, for all his years of experience and wisdom, knew what the hell he was doing.


	10. Ch 10: Always Crashing in the Same Car

**Chapter 10: Always Crashing in the Same Car**

* * *

Over the next three weeks, Caroline developed something of a routine in order to distract herself from worrying about this "teacher" that Dumbledore planned on finding for her. Her days consisted of spending time with her friends—Lily, Dorcas, Mary, and Marlene—and chatting as they went between classes. Due to having a representation of every house, Caroline saw at least one of them in all of her classes, even more so for electives. Now with a group of friends at her back, she found herself becoming more and more comfortable out of her shell. Before she had presented an icy façade that protected her from any cruelty on the part of her classmates, but now she felt truly at ease with the other girls, enough to comfortably be herself.

She would eat lunch with them at the Gryffindor table, often accompanied by the Marauders and their mischievous antics. More than once Caroline would find herself caught up in listening to the boys' latest concoction for a prank, only to be counteracted by some sort of screeching scolding on the part of Lily. These rowdy meals were often the highlight of her day, more than once ending with her laughing so hard tears sprung to her eyes. (Not to mention she was sat next to Sirius more than once, a fact she tried to insist had no effect on her mood whatsoever.)

Afternoons and evenings were typically spent with Adam. The past three weeks had seen a lot of progress in their relationship. They would often walk to shared classes together, hands linked between them as Caroline fought the flaming blush on her cheeks. It was still difficult for her to believe that a boy like Adam—intelligent, kind, caring—would be interested in someone as emotionally timid and standoffish as her. Additionally, the couple's physical relationship had been progressing a bit.

More than once, their evening study and homework sessions would end in some dark alcove, where their lips were swollen and hair a bit more disheveled than usual. That part of their relationship was almost easier—Caroline rarely had to think when it came to kissing Adam. It was pure instinct, mirroring the movements of his lips with hers, hands roaming over each other's bodies. Plus, it didn't hurt that Adam was quite a good kisser.

Tonight, however, she was forced to leave her regularly scheduled dates with Adam early in order to deal with other duties. Namely, her shift as one of the Prefects doing rounds. It wasn't a particularly difficult job as it mostly consisted of catching the occasional first year out of bed late or a couple who thought they could find their own dark alcove without anyone noticing—the latter was particularly awkward when Caroline found them in a spot that she and Adam had used previously.

Taking slow, shuffling steps, Caroline whistled quietly to herself as a form of entertainment—boredom was the real killer when it came to rounds. Her butchered attempt at whistling a Celestina Warbeck song garnered no witnesses thankfully, but she almost wished someone would come by, just to break up the tedium—even if it meant being humiliated for her lack of musical ability.

Obviously, Caroline had failed to learn the Muggle phrase, "Be careful what you wish for" because, as soon as she rounded the next corner of the hallway, she immediately crashed into someone else, both of them falling to the floor. She looked up to find none other than Sirius grinning widely at her from his position on the ground, looking rather pleased with having run the witch down.

Rolling her eyes, Caroline pushed herself up from the ground and said, "For a member of the Marauders, you really lack any form of finesse when it comes to sneaking around."

"Or perhaps this is all a rouse to spend time with my favorite witch?" Sirius countered, grinning.

In the last three weeks, Caroline had also begun spending quite a bit of time with Sirius. Now without a girlfriend—or whatever it was that he had with Marlene—the wizard had quite a bit of free time and seemed oddly invested in spending said time with Caroline. She'd found it odd at first, but now their time together was part of her routine as much as her evenings with Adam were.

"Don't tell your fan club that I'm your favorite—I'd never be able to survive that many Howlers," Caroline replied, holding out a hand to help him up. Sirius clasped his calloused hand in hers, nearly engulfing it, as he pulled himself up from the ground. The movement caused the two to be in rather close proximity and Caroline couldn't fight the slight uptick in her pulse as she forced herself to look anywhere but at Sirius.

Taking a slight step back, Caroline added, "I suppose this is the part where I take House points for being out after curfew. How many shall I make it? 50? 100? Or perhaps we should try to break a record and go for 500?"

"Ah, you wound me, woman," Sirius bemoaned, placing a hand over his heart. "House points are a grave matter and you know it."

Caroline fought back a smile as she pretended to stroke her chin thoughtfully. "Alright, I'll offer you a deal, Black. You keep me entertained for the rest of my rounds and I'll keep this little dalliance between us."

Sirius hissed sharply. "You drive a hard bargain, Grayson…I'll need to consult with my peers for a moment." He then turned and pretended to have a huddle for deliberation, despite being the only person present, while Caroline stood watching with her arms crossed and eyes in a near-permanent role. Finally, he turned back around and stated, "We accept your terms and conditions."

He held his hand out for the witch to shake, which she accepted begrudgingly. As soon as her hand was in his, Sirius immediately turned his grip into a vice and started dragging Caroline down the hallway.

"What are you _doing_ , you loon?" Caroline demanded, trying and failing to pull her hand free from his. She then attempted to drag her feet and slow the boy down, but her shoes offered no traction and instead, she began being moved even faster.

"We're going on a little adventure. Do you know what that word means? We can stop off in the library for a dictionary if need be," Sirius teased, looking back to grin at her.

When they came to a staircase, Caroline scoffed, "Fine, whatever. Just know that when Lily comes after me for ditching rounds, I'm throwing _you_ under the bus."

"'Throw me under the bus'?" Sirius questioned as he rapidly dragged her upstairs to the seventh floor. "What the bloody hell does that mean?"

Caroline huffed impatiently. "It's a Muggle expression. Essentially, it means that if Lily goes on a rampage looking for me, I will make sure you're the one who suffers the consequences, not me."

As they reached the seventh floor, Sirius turned back to look at her and said, "I can handle Evans." Caroline noted a bit smugly that his words sounded quite weak, especially coupled with the hint trepidation in his eyes.

The pair continued down the hallway in the same fashion as the other, with Sirius pulling Caroline by her hand. If pressed on the matter, Caroline would admit that she hadn't tried her hardest to break from the wizard's grip—but such a confession would be difficult to get. Sirius's face seemed to light up when he spotted the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy and his steps quickened, pulling Caroline all the way by the tapestry before suddenly stopping and immediately turning around, dragging them back the way they came for a short distance.

When Sirius turned and moved to do the same thing again, Caroline cried out, "It's official, Sirius, all those Bludgers you've taken to the head have rendered you completely mentally deficient." As she said those words, they once again came to a stop and Sirius released her hand. Caroline snatched back her hand, rubbing it to bring back the circulation she'd lost while being dragged around (and most definitely not because that same hand had been held by Sirius for an extended period of time).

Before Caroline could make another joke, she was startled by the sound of stone moving. She turned and watched as the previously blank wall across from the tapestry began to shift and transform, with a large door appearing out of seemingly nowhere. Caroline, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, turned to look at Sirius, who was watching her reaction and looking rather self-satisfied.

Quickly, Caroline schooled her expression into a more neutral one, but couldn't stop herself from demanding, "How the hell did you do this?"

"What makes you think I did this?" Sirius asked, faux-innocent.

Caroline huffed. "It's the only thing that could explain that smug look on your face—or rather, your usually smug grin has become even…smuggier."

"Smuggier?" Sirius scoffed.

"Shut it," Caroline growled her face warming considerably. "I just watched a door appear out of nowhere, I'm allowed this grammatical mix-up."

Chuckling, Sirius gestured to the door and said, "This is the Room of Requirement. Moony found it during our fourth year. You walk by this wall three times, thinking of a place you need, like a library or whatever else, and it'll transform into that place."

That explained the odd pacing he'd been doing earlier. Stepping towards the door, Caroline placed her hand on the large brass handle, rubbing her thumb over the cool metal surface, before asking, "So what place did you ask for?"

"Open it and find out."

Ignoring the slight uptick in her pulse once again (this time due to the husky pitch of Sirius's voice), Caroline grabbed more firmly onto the handle and pulled the door open with ease, unsure of what exactly she was stepping into.

The first thing Caroline noticed was the starry night sky above her head. The conjured room was perfectly mimicking the outdoors on a warm summer night, complete with a perfectly clear night sky. The way each star lit up the sky was truly awe-inspiring, especially for Caroline, who rarely saw the stars outside of her time at Hogwarts due to the London smog. Around her was a wide-open field with lush green grass and patches of wildflowers that sloped downwards and led into a thicket of trees further away.

Despite the darkness, there was a sense of peace that only came when amidst nature. The only sound she could hear was the chirping of insects and wind blowing through the trees. She closed her eyes and breathed in through her nose, making a point of taking in the smell of freshly cut grass and flora.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Came a soft voice beside her. Caroline opened her eyes and looked over at Sirius, whose eyes were cast upwards on the night sky.

"It's _beautiful_ ," Caroline murmured quietly, afraid that her voice would disrupt the Eden around them. "Where is this place?"

"It's a field near the Potters' house that I go to a lot, particularly at night," he told her. "I used to spend most of my breaks with them to get away from the pureblood propaganda being pushed at home. James's parents practically became my parents—especially after I ran away from home and got blasted off the family tree, quite literally."

Caroline felt a swirl of conflicting emotions. On the one hand, the fondness with which Sirius spoke of James and his family was so very endearing. It made her heart swell knowing that he had a family that supported him and loved him—even if it wasn't one by blood. On the other hand, she was enraged that his family was so prejudiced that they'd driven away their own son. In a way, she could empathize with the feeling of frustration when it came to pureblood family members.

"I don't know how you could ever leave this place," Caroline decided to stay instead of all the thoughts swirling in her head. She sat down on the soft grass, stretching her legs out in front of her, before laying all the way down so that all she could see were stars—endless, twinkling stars.

Sirius followed her lead and did the same, laying down next to her on the grass and looking up at the sky. He was laying so close that their arms were just barely brushing, the backs of their hands lightly pressed together. Once again Caroline found herself trying to steady her heart's reaction to being so close to Sirius and attempted to focus on the stars.

"What are you thinking about?" Sirius suddenly asked.

"My family," Caroline blurted out, avoiding the reality that her thoughts had been more focused on the boy lying next to her. "Mum says I worry too much, but I can't help it. With all these attacks, I find myself constantly wishing I could control the situation more, do something to assure myself that there's no way they'll ever be harmed."

"Do you really think they'd ever be hurt by You-Know-Who or his followers?" Sirius asked, turning his head to look at her.

Caroline met his intense gaze and replied, "I don't know, but I can't stop myself from thinking of every horrible, potential scenario—as unrealistic as it may or may not be. It doesn't help that I—" She stopped herself, shocked at how she'd almost stupidly revealed her dreams to Sirius. Was she really so comfortable with him that she would let such an _essential_ —not to mention terrifying—secret slip out? Not even Dorcas had gotten such a slip.

"You what?"

"I'm a bit neurotic about everything," Caroline diverted, faking a light laugh. "Thus, logic would indicate that obsessiveness bleeds into everything—even worrying about my family."

Sirius seemed to accept the feeble excuse, turning back to look up at the sky again. "Everyone's a bit on edge right now, I think. I overheard James's parents talking about the attacks this summer and the war in general."

"What did they say?" Caroline asked curiously. The adults in her life were either virtually clueless about what was going on (i.e. her mum and Henry) or willfully ignorant (i.e. her dad).

"At first it was just the usual stuff, talking about how horrible it all was," Sirius said. "But then they talked about the Order of the Phoenix—apparently, it's a group that Dumbledore has been putting together, made up of witches and wizards who wanna fight back against You-Know-Who."

"What about the Ministry and Aurors? Aren't they doing anything?" Caroline asked. While she felt comforted knowing Dumbledore was actively trying to fight against the Death Eaters, she wondered if it would be better to have all these wizards and witches being trained by the best.

Sirius scoffed. "The Ministry is completely incompetent. Dumbledore created the Order because they weren't doing anything to fight back against You-Know-Who."

Caroline couldn't help but think of her last dream, of the Auror mission she'd seen go wrong. "But surely the Aurors are doing _something_."

"I'm sure some of them are trying, but when you don't have the institution backing you, it's hard to get anything done," Sirius observed. After a moment's pause, he added rather quickly, "I'm gonna join the Order as soon as I graduate."

"Really?" Caroline inquired, though she found it unsurprising. Sirius was a Gryffindor, through and through, willing to throw himself into the thick of it due to his possession of both immense bravery and stupidity. "It sounds pretty dangerous."

"I want to be out there, making a difference. It's bad enough we're here at school, twiddling our thumbs while Death Eaters are out there killing and destroying families every day," Sirius stated passionately, his light gray eyes flashing with some emotion Caroline couldn't identify. "I won't just stand aside and watch this war go on. I want to end it."

While Caroline commended Sirius for his bravery and dedication to the cause, she couldn't help but think of how young they both still were. To get involved in a war at the age of 18 seemed radical and terrifying. She remembered, however, that the Death Eaters were recruiting people equally young. She'd even heard rumors of horrible induction processes, involving being beaten down or cursed—some even required them to kill a Muggle in order to be accepted by You-Know-Who and his followers.

When had their futures come down to this? To this world of life or death? Now, whenever Caroline thought of the future, she dreamed only of survival—she had no plans, no ambitions, only a desire that she and her loved ones make it through the war in one piece.

"I hate what this war has done to us—to our families, our friends," Caroline murmured, careful to keep her eyes on the sky rather than the person next to her, even as Sirius turned to gaze at her curiously, eyebrows raised. "I hate how it's consumed everything that we do, everything that we _are_. Other generations, they left school and dreamed of making a family, of having a career. When we leave, all we'll be hoping for is finding a way to make it out alive. It's…it's _sick_!"

Caroline didn't even realize tears had started spilling down her face until she felt a calloused hand come up and wipe them away gently. She looked over to find Sirius staring at her in an indiscernible fashion, his eyes resembling the sky during a storm. Caroline opened her mouth to say something, perhaps apologize for what a mess she was, but instead, only a choked cry came out.

Sirius didn't say anything, merely dried her eyes and stayed by her side as Caroline composed herself. When the tears had stopped and the two had once again lapsed into silence as they looked up at the shimmering diamonds above their heads, Caroline felt Sirius's hand press against hers. It wasn't the casual brush from before, but a more intentional, lingering touch.

She responded in kind, shifting her fingers up slightly so that they just barely tangled with his. Sirius took the lead then, moving his hand underneath hers and interlacing their fingers. Neither one broke the silence, instead choosing to remain side by side for quite a while longer with their hands still intertwined.

* * *

The next day Caroline had planned on walking with Lily and Marlene from Potions to lunch, but instead ended up caught up in a playful argument with Sirius. In Potions class that day, though, the two partners had argued furiously over the proper approach for completing their potion. ("Sirius, I have been in charge of our potions for the term thus far and done an excellent job, if our grades are anything to go by. So would you kindly shut up?" "Well don't come crying to me when you singe your eyebrows off, woman!")

As the two snickered and teased one another, they were oblivious to the way that both of their friends—the Marauders as well as Lily and Marlene—were watching them with varying expressions of surprise, some even bordering on suspicion. One particular crack from Caroline had Sirius barking out a loud laugh, causing a few passersby to give the pair a look.

That seemed to get Caroline's attention, who glared at the two Ravenclaw fourth years and raised an eyebrow, as though daring them to say something about it. Their response was to look down immediately and scurry off, causing Sirius's laughter to only increase in volume.

Wiping tears from his eyes as they entered the Great Hall, Sirius said, "Merlin, I haven't laughed this hard since last night when you nearly took the both of us out while tripping down the stairs."

Caroline punched him in the shoulder, earning a short " _Ow_!" in response. "I only tripped because _you_ put your foot out in front of me—and I'll be damned if I was the only one going down for that."

"Are you sure it wasn't because you were flustered by my devastating good looks? I've been known to make more than one bird fall head over heels for me—though never quite that literally," Sirius teased, grinning cheekily and winking at her.

Though Caroline remained composed and quickly replied with a, "In your dreams, Black", her heart stuttered at the sight of such a look. Before he could take it any further, Sirius was led by his friends to one end of the Gryffindor table where Peter sat waiting, while Caroline followed Lily and Marlene to the middle of the table, where Dorcas and Mary were waiting.

As soon as Caroline sat down, what can only be described as an inquisition began.

"What's going on with you and Sirius?" Dorcas asked bluntly, not bothering to beat around the bush.

Jarred, Caroline choked on her pumpkin juice, causing Lily to thump her on the back a few good times before she had it under control. "What?" She croaked out.

"Don't act all innocent," Dorcas said, giving her best friend a knowing look. "We've all seen how close the two of you have become these last few weeks."

Caroline kept her eyes on her food, rather specifically avoiding Marlene's gaze, as she feared it would be quite upset. "We're just friends, that's all. We enjoy making fun of each other and do so when in close proximity, that's all."

"Oh, really?" Lily countered, flipping her long red hair over one shoulder as she turned to face her friend. "Then what was all that business about _last night_?"

Almost immediately, Dorcas hissed, "Why, Caroline, you dog! Are you cheating on Adam with Sirius?"

" _No_!" Caroline shouted, causing nearly everyone in the Great Hall—including, much to her chagrin, Sirius and his friends—to stop their lunchtime conversations to stare at her. "No," she repeated much quieter. "There is nothing going on with us. We are just friends. Last night, I ran into him during my rounds—don't give me that look, Lils, I need you to act like my friend and not Head Girl right now—and we hung out for a while."

She omitted the part about them holding hands as they gazed up at the stars in a magical room on the seventh floor. Such details would only rile them up even further and Caroline wanted this conversation to end as soon as possible.

"Caroline," Mary said, reaching out to pat the back of her friend's hand in a way that, with anyone else, would've felt condescending. With Mary, it felt more like a wise older sibling giving Caroline a bit of insider knowledge. "No girl can be 'just friends' with Sirius—he's entirely incapable of keeping it in his pants."

While Caroline understood where she and the others were coming from—Sirius had created a womanizing reputation for himself over the years—she bristled at the implication that Sirius wasn't able to maintain a friendship with a girl. She had personally seen the lengths to which he would go for a friend all throughout their time at Hogwarts, as the idiot was too headstrong to stand by and do nothing. Did her friends really believe that Sirius's womanizing ways rendered his loyalty his friends null and void?

"Look," Caroline said, choosing her words carefully. "I'm dating Adam and I really like him. Trust me when I say that, if there was something going on between me and Sirius, I wouldn't drag Adam through it with us. If you can't believe we're just friends, at least trust that I would never hurt my boyfriend like that."

She used the word "boyfriend" intentionally, knowing that would be enough to steer the conversation in another direction, away from Sirius Black. Sure enough, Dorcas squealed and began to demand when Caroline's relationship became labeled officially, while Mary made teasing remarks about their physical relationship. While the incessant chatter about Adam was enough to make Caroline's face turn bright red, it was worth the shift away from a topic she was most definitely not comfortable talking about.

Once they were finished with lunch, Mary and Dorcas headed off to their next afternoon class, while Lily went to find James and plan the next Prefects meeting. This left Caroline with the person she'd been hoping most to avoid, Marlene. Chancing a glance, the other girl seemed perfectly laid back, flipping through a Witches Weekly magazine that she always kept stowed in her bag. Caroline, following her lead, pulled out her latest Muggle read, _Much Ado About Nothing_.

"Care?" Marlene suddenly said, eyes never leaving the page of the magazine.

Gulping slightly, Caroline glanced up and asked, albeit hesitantly, "Yeah?"

Shutting her magazine and turning so her entire body was facing Caroline, Marlene's face held an unreadable expression. "Can we talk for a second? Without any outside ears?" She nodded towards the group of fifth years next to them, who appeared to be studying but their textbooks were only open on the Table of Contents.

"Of course," Caroline replied, putting away her book quickly and standing up from her seat. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, Marlene did the same and the two girls walked out of the Great Hall together, getting looks from every table as they went.

Once they reached a mostly empty corridor, Marlene immediately stopped and rotated to face Caroline. Again, her expression was fairly blank, though there was a tenseness in her shoulders that set Caroline on edge. Was she going to blow up about all the time Caroline was spending with Sirius? Did she really think there was something going on between them?

"I want to start off by saying, I'm not mad," Marlene explained, tucking a dark strand of hair behind her ear. "About you and Sirius, I mean. Regardless if something's going on, I have no emotional stake in Sirius's life."

That disclaimer had Caroline sagging with relief. "Thank Merlin, I thought you were going to rip into me for hanging out with him."

Marlene grinned, shaking her head. "As much as it would delight the gossips of Hogwarts to have us fighting over him, I have no interest in Sirius anymore—barely did before, I was mostly just in it for that lovely arse of his."

Caroline flushed at the mention of any body part of Sirius's but chuckled at her friend's bluntness nonetheless. "So, what did you want to talk about then?"

"I just…" Marlene began and then stopped, biting her lip. The way she shuffled her feet and kept fiddling with the strap on her bag indicated a level of nervousness—or perhaps just uncertainty of what to say. "I'm worried that you and Sirius are getting in a bit deep."

Of all the things Caroline had expected to come out of this girl's mouth, that was certainly not one of them. "Um…what?"

"The amount of time you spend together, the bond you seem to be forming…I'm just worried you're getting very attached to each other, too attached for people who claim to be 'just friends,'" Marlene explained, rubbing the back of her neck. "Do you remember when I told you that I dumped Sirius because I thought he had a thing for someone else?"

Caroline was still in a state of shock, only managing to mumble out a soft, "Yeah."

"Well, I think that it's you," Marlene stated. "He was always so…focused on you and everything you did. And when you went to Hogsmeade with Hufflepuff's Golden Boy, he spent the entire time muttering and fuming. He was on edge all day."

The Slytherin girl was openly gaping at her friend now. Sirius had feelings for her? That was impossible. Surely, having been so obsessed with him for the entirety of her time at Hogwarts, Caroline would have noticed if the feelings were ever mutual.

"Marlene, that's insane," Caroline said, shaking her head almost violently. "Sirius doesn't have feelings for me. Hell, until this year, he could barely even look at me! Trust me when I say that any feelings between us are strictly platonic. _Especially_ on his part." Yet her mind couldn't help but go to the night before, when they'd laid under the stars with their hands intertwined. _What had all that meant?_

Marlene raised an eyebrow. "But not on yours?"

"I'm with Adam," Caroline said instead of replying, as though that explained everything.

The Gryffindor girl seemed to sense that there was no convincing her friend, as she sighed and rubbed a hand over her eyes. "Whatever you say, Care. I'm just letting you know my thoughts and you can do with them what you will. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to get to class."

With that, Marlene left Caroline standing alone in the corridor, a thousand different thoughts swirling in her head.

* * *

Marlene's words were still lingering in Caroline's mind the next day during Quidditch practice. While they were supposed to be preparing for their match with Gryffindor—the first match of the year—next month, Caroline found it difficult to focus on strategy and formations when Sirius Black was all her brain seemed to concentrate on. She kept running over every encounter they'd had this year, every little look or touch, and found herself coming up short.

Whatever Marlene thought she saw or believed to be going on with Sirius, she was obviously wrong. Maybe because she previously thought Sirius had feelings for Caroline and dumped him as a result, Marlene now needed something to justify her actions. To prove to herself that the breakup had been the right decision and not a hasty mistake. Yet, Marlene hardly seemed to care at all about getting back together with Sirius—or Sirius's love life in general.

"GRAYSON!"

She was brought out of her thoughts by a shout from one of her teammates. Whipping her head around, she saw Burke shouting her head off and pointing up at the sky. Caroline looked up to see that Regulus had somehow fallen from his broom and was rapidly plummeting towards the ground, his eyes completely rolled back into his head.

" _Arresto Momentum_!" Caroline cried out, pointing her wand at the falling boy. The velocity at which he was falling rapidly decreased, now moving through the air slowly as if he were going through water. Caroline then quickly flew over to where he was and grabbed him, putting him on her broom in front of her and then moving down to land on the ground.

As soon as they were landed, she moved Regulus off, who was completely unconscious and fell onto the ground almost immediately. Looking him over, Caroline noticed how pale the younger boy was, his skin taking on an almost gray hue, with dark purple bags under his eyes. Additionally, his entire body was covered with a layer of cold sweat.

"Burke!" Caroline yelled out. "Go find Madame Pomfrey, quickly!" She was afraid to move Regulus, for fear of making whatever illness that had come over him worse. The rest of the team landed and she quickly sent them on their way, not wanting to create a scene and also knowing that practice was almost at an end before one of their best players decided to take a nose dive.

As she waited for Pomfrey to arrive, she checked over Regulus's body, wondering if he had been cursed. As she lifted his sleeves, she found dark purple bruises all over his arm. Upon checking the other arm as well as his legs, she found him to be in a similar state. Almost immediately, her mind went back to the rumors she'd heard—of an initiation ceremony for the Death Eaters that involved being attacked and bruised within an inch of your life. If the recruit could take the beating without crying out, they were deemed worthy of the dark mark.

Praying she was wrong, she turned over Regulus's forearm and looked down. She sighed out in relief to find it blank, free of any such marking. However, deep down she knew that this initiation was the only explanation for why Regulus looked this way. Had he failed to take his beating in a way that pleased his sadistic Dark Lord? Or was his bruised body only step one in the process to fall into You-Know-Who's team of killers?

She didn't have much time to debate these thoughts before Madame Pomfrey was approaching with Burke, the older woman immediately kneeling down to check on Regulus. Caroline turned and told Burke she could leave, eyes never leaving the boy on the ground. Once he was deemed stable, Pomfrey levitated his body and headed towards the Hospital Wing to heal him and give him some well-needed rest.

Caroline went with them, feeling responsible for Regulus until he was at least conscious—both as a prefect as well as his Captain. Once they arrived in the Hospital Wing, Regulus was placed onto a bed and Pomfrey went to prepare a few healing potions. Almost as soon as she left the room to check a cupboard for supplies, Regulus was gasping awake, eyes popping wide open.

"Regulus!" Caroline said, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. When he continued to breathe in and out rapidly, eyes wide but still not comprehending his surroundings, Caroline continued, "Regulus, it's me, Caroline Grayson. You're in the Hospital Wing."

Finally, the boy turned to look at her, eyes still as wide as saucers. "What's going on? What happened?"

"You fell," Caroline explained, though still not really sure how all this happened herself. "You fell off your broom during practice and passed out. You were feverish and injured, so I had Burke get Madame Pomfrey—"

" _No_!" Regulus barked out violently, sitting up in bed. "No, I don't need help. I just want to go back to my room."

Caroline fought back a sigh. "Regulus," she tried to sound serene and patient, even as she wanted to throttle this idiotic boy. "You're injured. Madame Pomfrey is just going to give you some potions and fix you up. It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal," Regulus laughed mirthlessly. "You have no idea—I can't—I need—" Every sentence the boy tried to start seemed to get lost halfway out, his mind clearly still adjusting from all that had just happened. His eyes were practically overflowing with fear, flashing every direction as though waiting for someone to pop out and get him.

Caroline felt a surge of pity for this young boy, twisted by the ideals of his family and too young to understand the severity of tying himself to You-Know-Who. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she said quietly, "Regulus, if you ever need anything, you can always talk to me."

Her words certainly got a reaction out of the boy. He wrenched away from her touch as though it burned him, eyes narrowing into slits as he glared up at her. "Just get out."

"Regulus—"

"I said, _get_. _Out_." His eyes—the same stormy gray as his brother's—were stone cold, all fear having been exchanged for that of resentment. His expression clearly depicted a bitterness towards her for bringing him into the Hospital Wing, as it would now mean him having to answer questions that he didn't know how to.

Sighing, Caroline begrudgingly left the boy alone, if only because he was no awake and alert enough to take care of himself. But that didn't stop her from looking back one last time at him, brows knitted together in concern. She could clearly see the conflict in Regulus and wished she knew a way to get through to him, to tell him that he had no obligation to join You-Know-Who, no matter what his family might say.

All at once a lightbulb went off in her head: what about Sirius?

If she told Sirius about the encounter, about her suspicions that Regulus might be talked down from this decision, maybe he would be willing to intervene. Not to mention, if all went well, Sirius might finally have his little brother back in his life. After all, if one Black brother could break tradition, why couldn't two?  
Making up her mind, Caroline made her way through the castle, searching for Sirius. Eventually, she found him lounging around outside with his fellow Marauders, laughing at Merlin knows what. Setting her jaw and raising her head in a determined sort of way, Caroline marched over towards the four boys.

"Grayson!" Sirius crowed, getting up from where he'd been laying on the ground. "Couldn't get enough of me today?"

His bright smile faded when Caroline didn't respond with a quip of her own, instead nervously looking side to side before she murmured, "Can I talk to you for a minute? Alone?" She added the last part with a pointed look towards the other boys.

Giving his friends a shrug and helpless look, Sirius agreed and followed Caroline to where she lead him just inside the building, tucked away from prying eyes.

"I need to tell you something rather important," she said. "Just…try not to yell too much."

Sirius raised an eyebrow, curiosity fully piqued. "No promises, but I'll do my best."

"As you know, your brother is on the Quidditch team with me," Caroline said, not missing the way his shoulders stiffened at the mention of his brother. "Today, during practice, he passed out and completely fell off his broom—it was lucky that I managed to stop him before he hit the ground. When I checked him over, he was horribly pale and sleep deprived, not to mention his body was covered in bruises as though he'd been beaten."

She paused, gauging the boy's reaction. His face was impassive, expression clearly urging her to get to the point, whatever it was. "Anyway, I think that…" She hesitated about how to finish this spiel. "I think that Regulus may have been through some sort of initiation ceremony to become a…a Death Eater. But when I checked his arms, there wasn't a Dark Mark or anything like that. He was just hurt really badly. And Sirius, when he woke up, he was so terrified."

"Probably worried he's going to get caught by Dumbledore," Sirius muttered darkly, eyes narrowed into slits.

Caroline frowned at his response, wondering if maybe she hadn't phrased it well enough to understand what she was saying. "No, Sirius, I think that…I think that he may have been forced into all this. He didn't look like a proud member of You-Know-Who's forces and that would explain the lack of sleep—more than likely the whole incident traumatized him."

Sirius let out a loud guffaw. "You clearly don't know my brother as well as I do, Grayson," Sirius mocked. "He's been eagerly awaiting his chance at the Dark Mark since he was a little first year. Don't waste your pity on him."

The Gryffindor boy's lack of sympathy for his brother shocked Caroline. Despite the bad blood between them, she'd really thought this event would have him running to help his brother, to help save his soul from You-Know-Who. Instead, he acted like this whole thing was just a joke.

"But—"

"Caroline," Sirius cut in sternly, giving her a derisive look. "Just let my brother ruin his life on his own. He's a big boy and knows exactly what he's doing."

"That's bullshit!" Caroline finally snapped, glaring up at Sirius. "He is a scared and lost little boy, in need of guidance. If you would just talk to him, show him there are other options, I really think—"

"Stop dreaming about some perfect world where my brother suddenly decides to stop being a bloody prick and we reunite to become a family once again. Get your head out of the clouds, Caroline, and realize that this is Regulus's own doing—this is what he wants!" Sirius bellowed, his ire building up to match hers. "I'm not going to waste any more of my breath on him."

"That is so fucking selfish and you know it. He hasn't been given the opportunity to escape your parents' control in the way you have," Caroline angrily insisted, her eyes darkening and narrowing in on Sirius. Her hands were starting to gesticulate wildly, a top indicator of how quickly Sirius was starting to piss her off.

Sirius let out a low growl and hissed, "Don't act like you are some fucking expert on me and my life, Grayson. I have tried more than once to convince him to leave, to try and help him be his own person. It never worked, not once, and it only caused even more pain for me. So you don't get to tell me what to do."

" _Ugh_ ," Caroline groaned out in frustration, fighting the urge to start pulling out her hair or something equally drastic. "If you would just listen to what I'm saying—"

"Just stay out of it!" Sirius finally yelled, throwing his hands up in the air. "Why do you always have to be such a control freak? Telling everyone around you what to do, as though you're some sort of fucking authority, when in reality you're just being completely neurotic and obsessive. Merlin, it's a miracle you have any friends at all, acting this way."

His words are like a blow to the chest, bursting through her carefully crafted walls and piercing her heart instantaneously. Tears spring to Caroline's eyes as her mouth opens and closes, completely at a loss for how to respond. Really, how is she supposed to respond? Because Sirius was completely right—she was a control freak and obsessive. And she herself had often wondered how Dorcas—and now the other girls—could put up with her.

What really drove the knife in deeper, however, was the fact that Sirius had taken her own words—a self-deprecating criticism during an intimate moment—and turned them around on her, used them to knock her down and hurt her. His use of words she'd said during their night under the stars was causing the memory of that night to shift, to distort into something much uglier. Had he ever really cared for her at all?

Upon seeing Caroline completely silent and on the verge of tears, Sirius seemed to lose all his anger and stuttered out, "Caroline, I-I—"

Sirius's fumbling inability to comprehend her emotional turmoil was the final straw, tears now freely flowing down her cheeks. She tried to fight it, wiping them away as soon as they came, but it was like a dam had been broken, as the tears just kept coming.

"You're right," Caroline managed to get out, even as the tears continued to flow down her cheeks. "I should just stay out of it. It's none of my business what you do with your life or your brother."

"Caroline, that's not—"

"What you meant?" Caroline snapped, eyes red and bloodshot. She let out a hollow laugh, sniffling. "Let's not kid ourselves, Sirius. Besides, my problem has always been that I was too invested in you, in being accepted by you. Maybe if I just 'stay out of it', I'll finally move on."

Sirius's eyebrows knitted together as he stared at her, uncomprehending. "What are you talking about?"

Again, Caroline let out that dark, empty laugh that sent a chill down Sirius's spine. "You know exactly what I mean, everyone in this bloody school knows too!" When he continued to stare at her as though she'd grown a second head, Caroline snapped, "My feelings for you, Sirius! The fucking elephant in the room that we never talk about. That is what I am referring to—the pathetic way I've pined after you since we were children."

This time it was Sirius's turn to be left completely speechless. Caroline was surprised to find that he really was as clueless as he'd appeared—it wasn't some game he was playing, pretending to be coy. He had no fucking idea.

"And now I've managed to humiliate myself even further," Caroline muttered more to herself than to Sirius, though the latter heard as well. Wiping away the last of her tears and squaring up her shoulders, she stated, "You won't have to worry about me telling you what to do anymore. In fact, you won't even have to worry about me looking at you anymore. Your message has been received, Black, loud and clear."

With that, Caroline marched away from a wide-eyed Sirius and managed to hold herself together until she reached her empty dorm room, where she then dissolved once again into a mess of tears.


	11. Ch 11: The Stars Look Different Today

**Chapter 11: The Stars Look Different Today**

* * *

On the evening before Halloween, it had been exactly two weeks since Caroline's fight with Sirius. In that time period, he had attempted to apologize multiple times by approaching her during the few times she was alone—whilst studying in the library or on her way to the dungeons. Every time, his apology met no form of acknowledgment from Caroline; she would continue on as though he'd said nothing, leaving him feeling even more guilty and discouraged.

His outlook on the situation depleted even further when he came to Potions, intent on doing whatever he needed in order to make up with his partner, only to find a rather ornery looking Lily Evans in the seat beside him. Confused, Sirius had looked around the room and found Caroline sitting in Lily's former seat beside Alice Fawley, who seemed just as befuddled by the switch. Sirius had stared at Caroline, hoping to get some sort of reaction from her—even if it was only an icy scowl—but she kept her eyes locked determinedly on her textbook.

Caroline took her cleanse of Sirius a step further by ceasing all meals at the Gryffindor table. Initially, her friends had been upset and volunteered to oust Sirius from Gryffindor if it meant her return, but she refused their offers (as tempting as they may have been). Instead, Caroline began spending time either alone at the Slytherin table—a last resort and infrequently used—or with Adam at the Hufflepuff table. Her boyfriend paid no mind to the change; if anything, he was rather glad to see more of his often-occupied girlfriend.

None of these actions were taken to be spiteful or cruel—Caroline had no intention of hurting Sirius or her friends. In truth, she had forgiven Sirius for his cruel words not long after she fled the scene. Caroline knew that much of the words he said were out of anger—as a fellow short-tempered individual, she knew all too well how easy it was to get caught up in the heat of an argument and say whatever was necessary to win it. Even at the cost of hurting the person you were arguing with deeply.

What had caused this newfound distance was Caroline's realization of the depth of her feelings for Sirius. If the argument had been between her and Dorcas—all the same insults, same hurtful insights into each other—the words wouldn't cut nearly as deep. Caroline wouldn't have fled in tears if Dorcas accused her of being a neurotic control freak with no friends; she would've countered with her own, all too insightful jab back. However, that hadn't been her reaction with Sirius.

No, Caroline had been so wounded by his words, by his ill-opinion of her, that she ran away crying. It was only in the aftermath that it occurred to her why such a reaction was provoked. Simply put, Caroline's feelings for Sirius were developing into more than just a pesky crush or a silly, schoolgirl infatuation. No, Caroline was becoming quite attached to Sirius and the time they spent together—be it in Potions or during meals—was only increasing that dependency.

So, Caroline decided when her eyes became much less swollen and her tears were completely dried, she would avoid the wizard at all costs. She would cut off all ties before they could form again. Instead of spending time with anything that so much as reminded her of Sirius, Caroline would focus on other matters—Adam, NEWTS, Quidditch, etc. It was best for everyone involved, she rationalized.

Now if only she could believe it herself…

* * *

After dinner, Caroline accompanied Adam to the library. She didn't have a particular need to go, but sitting in the Great Hall only made her want to go and join her friends at the Gryffindor table. It was better to remove all temptation and get out of that room as soon as possible.

While Adam sat hunched over his Defence Against the Dark Arts book, trying to find answers for an essay he was writing on nonverbal spells, Caroline slouched down into an armchair and began reading her step-father's latest novel recommendation, _Les Misérables_ by Victor Hugo. The novel was robust and depressing from the start, thus making it virtually impossible for Caroline to focus on the material. After all, she didn't need help feeling sad lately—she was constantly in a state of regret and missing her friends. It was becoming more and more difficult to stand by her plan of action with Sirius.

It didn't help that her friends were constantly giving her looks during meals, eyes beseeching her to come over. Their expressions seemed to say, "Come on over, we'll keep Black away from you." It had gotten to the point that Caroline just stopped looking at them during meals, trying to intently focus on conversations had at the Hufflepuff table. Unfortunately for her, the conversations between Adam and his friends often unintentionally excluded her. It wasn't that her boyfriend's mates were unkind towards her—Adam would never let such a thing stand, he was too much of a gentleman—but they were visibly wary of her, due to likely a combination of her house and her reputation.

All of this only furthered her own isolation, though it was self-imposed and she did have the power to break it at any time.

"Thinking hard there?" Adam asked, breaking Caroline free of her intent (and rather bleak) train of thought.

Letting out a breathy laugh, Caroline tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear and glanced down her book so that she wouldn't have to see the knowing look on Adam's face. "It's a fascinating novel," she tried to deflect, flipping the page despite having no clue what events were transpiring in the novel.

"I can tell by the way you haven't flipped the page for the past 10 minutes," he quipped, his eyes belying a deep sense of concern. Caroline blushed and, caught in the act, shut her book before putting it back into her bag. "You've seemed quite upset recently."

Once again, Caroline found it difficult to meet her boyfriend's gaze, for she knew it would hold boundless concern for her well-being. Why did he have to be so damned thoughtful? Couldn't he be a lousy boyfriend, so that she felt no guilt in her straying thoughts?

"I've just been rather busy lately," she deflected, finally meeting Adam's dark eyes and fighting back a sigh—they were what Muggles might dub "puppy dog eyes".

Adam reached over and took her hand in his, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles in a circular motion. "I know you've been distancing yourself from your friends lately. Is it because of that fight you had with Black?"

Her eyes widened as she fought to keep her jaw from dropping. "How did you hear about that?"

"Caroline," he said, a slight smile coloring his face. "I believe everyone at Hogwarts has heard that story by now."

"Oh, Merlin," she groaned, face turning from a flawless ivory to tomato red. "What all did you hear exactly?"

Adam continued to pet the hand he was holding, the smile never leaving his face. "Nothing specific, just that you argued and Black said something rude enough to make you run away crying."

"You can just leave me here to die of shame," Caroline muttered, dropping her head onto his shoulder in an attempt to hide. "I can't believe I cried like some—some twit! I've withstood far worse than Sirius bloody Black."

Her boyfriend gently laid his head on top of hers, pressing a firm kiss to her hairline. "Whatever he said, it clearly upset you. And now you're avoiding Gryffindor altogether." He paused, straightening up and placing his hand under her chin, so that they were maintaining eye contact once more. "Don't let some bloody Marauder ruin your happiness—it's him who should be inconveniencing himself this way, not you."

Caroline leaned forward and pressed a firm kiss to his lips. "You're very wise for a Hufflepuff—are you sure you were placed in the right house?" She teased once the two had pulled apart.

Running a hand through her loose curls, Adam countered, "You're quite affectionate for a snake—are you sure that _you_ were placed in the right house?"

"Such a heinous affront on me and my family are enough to warrant a duel, Mr. Milton," Caroline warned with a mischievous glint in her eye. "Do you really think you could beat someone as _cunning_ and _clever_ as me?"

Adam wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him, as he said, "Never. I concede to the almighty Caroline Grayson."

"Good," she replied, only to let out an undignified squeal when Adam locked his hold on her even tighter and began rapidly placing sloppy kisses all over her face. Her shrieks and cries of "Mercy!" attracted the attention of Madam Pince, who came trudging around the corner with a stern look on her pinched face.

"What is the meaning of all this commotion?" She demanded shrilly, hands placed quite firmly on her hips.

Fighting back laughter, Adam said, "We're so sorry, Madam Pince. A bit of a duel gone wrong as it were."

His words earned a gasp from Madam Pince and an elbow to the gut from Caroline, who was also finding it difficult to repress her laughter (if her shaking shoulders were anything to go by). After being berated by the stern librarian for nearly 10 minutes, she stormed off back in the direction she came and left the two alone. Her absence allowed Caroline to immediately turn around and hit her boyfriend upside the head with a pillow, though her laughter and bright smile indicated no real trouble for Adam.

* * *

 _Caroline found herself standing in a dark room, barely able to see anything. She pressed her hands to the tiled walls, sliding them all around in hopes of finding a light of some sort. Unable to locate anything, she kept her hands pressed against the wall and walked until she hit another wall. She kept moving, switching from wall to wall, and prayed she would find something to show where the hell she was._

 _After a lap or two, Caroline quickly realized that there were no lights to speak of and that she'd spent this entire time walking around the expanse of a very small room. Was it a prison cell?_ No _, she thought to herself,_ even prison cells have a window or door of some sort. _Huffing, she slid down to the ground and sat, hoping for someone to appear and illuminate the situation a bit._

 _Fortunately, it was only a few minutes before she heard the familiar pop of someone Apparating into the room followed by a soft, "Lumos", lighting up the entire room. As Caroline had discovered in her rounds, she was in a compact, square room that spanned about five steps from wall to wall. The walls themselves were covered in black tile, as was the floor, with no sign of a door or window—hence why someone had to Apparate inside._

 _In the center of the room was a large metal table and chair that a man was bound to, his arms cuffed to the table while his legs were cuffed to the front legs of the chair. Caroline was sat behind the man at the table, so she couldn't see who it was. She focused on the two men in front of him, the ones who had just come in. It was easy to see that both were Ministry workers, as they both had badges indicating they worked for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement._

 _Pushing herself up from her place on the floor, Caroline moved to stand beside the two men and was shocked when she turned to find that the man strapped to the chair and table was, in fact, her father, Demetrius Grayson._

 _"What have they done to you?" Caroline couldn't help but gasp out, despite knowing all too well that no one could hear._

 _Her father, a normally robust and impressive-looking fellow, was a pathetic sight to see. His once carefully pressed clothes were wrinkled and dirty, as though he'd been in them for days. The head of dark wavy hair that Caroline had inherited from him was greasy and plastered to his forehead by sweat. His dark brown eyes, normally jovial and spritely, were beseeching as he looked up at the wizards in front of him, dark bags displaying a clear lack of sleep._

 _"Please," Demetrius begged, clenching his fists on the table. "Don't hurt me. I've told you all that I know."_

 _The taller of the two men circled around her father like a vulture, a cruel smile playing at the corners of his lips. He placed a hand on Demetrius's shoulder, eyes flashing with delight when the older man flinched at his touch._ What have they been doing to him? _Caroline thought, eyes wide and her stomach tied in knots._ Please, don't hurt him.

 _"Don't dig yourself deeper than you already are, Grayson," the other wizard warned, shaking his head as though he pitied her father. "We've been at this for nearly three days now and all you do is make it worse for yourself."_

 _"Just give us what we want, Grayson," the tall one murmured into Demetrius's ear, holding his shoulders tight so that the other man wouldn't be able to flinch away this time. "And we'll let you go."_

 _"But I don't have any information!" Demetrius cried out, frustrated tears leaking from his eyes. "I've told you a thousand times—I have never been loyal to You-Know-Who and any information I have is second hand. I have no idea what he's up to!"_

 _The shorter wizard clucked his tongue, once again looking like a stern professor about to punish a student. "You really don't want to talk, do you?" He stated, his fish-like eyes scanning over the imprisoned man before him. "Perhaps," he continued, leaning forward as he pushed his meaty fists down against the cool metal surface of the table, "we would be able to get some more answers out of you if we brought in someone else. Your daughter, maybe?"_

 _At the mention of Caroline, her father thrashed wildly against his restraints, eyes lighting up with a fire she'd never before seen. "Stay away from my daughter!" He growled. "You so much as touch a hair on her head and I'll kill you!"_

 _His threats only amused the two wizards, who exchanged smug looks over Demetrius's head. "My, what a strong reaction," the wizard standing beside Demetrius quipped, rolling his wand between his fingertips. "If only we'd known to bring her up sooner. I'd love to meet her, you know," he added as an aside to Demetrius, whose face was turning an unflattering shade of maroon as he continued to fight against his restraints. "I've been told she's quite the pretty little thing. A feisty viper, you must be so proud."_

 _"I'll_ kill _you!" Demetrius screamed. "I will slaughter you where you stand!"_

 _The other wizard shook his head, turning to give his comrade a derisive look. "That is a clear threat against a Ministry official," he chided in a gentle tone, similar to that of an exasperated parent scolding their child. "Such behavior most certainly warrants punishment."_

 _At the mention of punishment, Demetrius's expression became quite pallid, all previous fight seeping out of him as quickly as it came. The shorter wizard—obviously the higher ranking of the two, if their exchanges were anything to go by—seemed to ponder his co-worker's threat before sighing and rolling his eyes. "Get it over with quickly, we've got a meeting with the Minister in 10 minutes," he informed the other man before Apparating out of the room with a soft pop._

 _Caroline, who had been completely frozen up to this moment, turned to watch as the other Ministry official raised his wand, a terrifying glint in his eyes. "It's nothing personal," he assured Demetrius, who was shaking and breaking out into a sweat. "Just business." Then, raising his wand up, he cried out "Crucio!"_

 _A loud sob was ripped out of Caroline's throat as she watched her father convulse in pain. Demetrius let out a pained cry, eyes clenching shut as though it would help block out the pain. He tried to move, to pull away from the source of his pain, but was still confined by his restraints. He was completely helpless, left only to sit in his chair and scream._

* * *

Caroline sat straight up in her bed, sweat pouring down her face. Her hair was damp, sticking to the back of her neck and sides of her face. Hurriedly, she pulled all of her hair back, hoping to alleviate this feeling of suffocation. Throwing back her blankets, she kept out a careful eye to make sure she didn't wake the other girls in Slytherin's seventh year dorm. She pulled on a dressing gown over the t-shirt and pajama pants she'd worn to bed, swiftly making her way through the Slytherin common room and out of the dungeons.

Her feet continued to move without thought, not really thinking about where she went. Caroline was startled to find herself eventually standing outside of the Room of Requirement, her heart lurching as she recalled the last time she'd been there. She reached out tentatively to press her hand against the wall concealing the room, absentmindedly allowing her fingers to stroke the surface.

"Caroline?" A familiar voice whispered from behind her.

Ripping her hand back from the wall as though it burned her, Caroline whirled around to find Sirius standing behind her, also in his pajamas and looking quite a bit worse for wear. The sight of him was enough to catch her breath—she'd spent all this time trying to avoid even looking at him and now the full force of his presence was hitting her once again.

"Sirius," she replied in an equally soft tone. Her choice to respond, rather than ignore him, was not lost on the boy, who startled slightly at being addressed.

"What…what are you doing here? At this hour?" He asked timidly, clearly afraid that questioning her too much would only result in the silent treatment once more.

His questions had Caroline remembering exactly what had driven her out of bed this late at night. Flashes of that horrible dream came trickling back and she found herself suddenly on the verge of tears—tears for an event that she was unsure she could stop. Her father's cries started ringing in her ears and that was enough to break the dam, hot rivers running down her face.

Sirius rushed forward, unable to stop himself from placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Caroline?" He asked, eyes shining with concern. "What's wrong? What happened?"

Unable to form words, she merely pushed forward and threw her arms around his neck, allowing him to hold her and comfort her. She instinctually pressed her tear-stained face against his neck, muffling her sobs against his shoulders. In return, she felt his arms come to wrap around her, whispering words of comfort into her ear. They stood that way—wrapped up in each other—for quite some time.

Once Caroline was able to calm down and stop her hiccupping cries, she slowly pulled herself from Sirius's embrace, mopping up the remnants of her tears with her sleeve. She shakily lowered herself to the floor and Sirius did the same, making sure to sit close should she need comforting again.

"Caroline," he finally murmured, tilting her chin up to meet his gaze. "What's going on?"

The sight of those earnest, stormy eyes of his was Caroline's breaking point. Too long had she been living with terrifying nightmares that became reality. Too long had she been forced to bear the burden of knowing what would happen in the future, while having no foreseeable option to do something about it.

Turning to face Sirius, she said, "I have to tell you something—something that I haven't told anyone else—but you have to promise me, Sirius, that you'll keep it a secret." She paused and grabbed his hands in hers, looking deeply into his eyes. "Promise me," she repeated.

The boy nodded quickly. "Of course. Your secrets will always be safe with me."

Letting out a shaky sigh, Caroline began, "What I'm about to tell you is going to sound mad, but I need you to stick with me until the very end. Can you do that?" At Sirius's vigorous nod once more, she continued, "Since the beginning of term, I've been having these…dreams. Horrible dreams, where I witness heinous attacks or tortures of individuals in the war. Most of them have to do with You-Know-Who and his followers…"

"And?" Sirius couldn't help but urge. "What about these dreams is so top secret?"

"Almost every dream I've had has come true, at some point," she told him, eyeing his reaction carefully. "It's like they're visions of the future—the attack that occurred right when school started, the one on Evelyn Blakely and her family? I dreamt about it the night before it happened. The other night, I had a dream about an Auror task force being attacked while raiding some place called the Spiny Serpent. When I told Dumbledore, he checked with the Ministry and found a mission matching the description of the one I saw was about to take place the following week."

"But, that's impossible," Sirius said, eyebrows scrunched together in concentration. "How could you know what happened before it happened?"

"Dumbledore suspects that I might be a Seer," Caroline confessed feebly. "He's currently trying to find me a tutor of sorts, someone who can help me figure out what these visions are and why I keep having them." Again, she watched Sirius in hopes of assessing what his reaction to all this information was.

When he continued to stare off into space, his mind clearly miles away, Caroline began to feel nervous. Had this been a mistake? The longer he went without reacting, without saying a single word, the more she began to wish she'd kept her mouth shut. _This is why Dumbledore advised me to keep my dreams a secret_ , she thought as her gaze drifted away from the boy next to her. _What must he think of me now?_

"I'm sorry for putting you in this position," Caroline finally muttered, breaking the silence. Sirius glanced over at her questioningly, eyebrows raised. "I should've just kept this to myself, but I…" She stopped, taking a moment to collect herself and fight the tears springing to her eyes once again. "It's just been so hard."

To Caroline's surprise, an arm wrapped around her shoulders as Sirius pulled her tightly against him, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder. "I'm glad you told me—you shouldn't be dealing with this all on your own," he said. "You're right, this whole situation is mad, but that doesn't mean you should keep dealing with this on your own. It's alright to share the weight of it all, from time to time."

All the tension she'd been carrying with her—not just that night, but for the whole of term—slowly seeped out of Caroline as she sagged against him. For the first time in what felt like a century, she could finally breathe a little bit easier, her shoulders weighed down a little bit less. She was surprised by the deep sense of relief that came with confessing her secret to someone—and then having them accept her in turn.

"Thank you," she whispered, afraid that if she spoke too loudly the moment would be lost and she would come crashing back down into that deep pit of despair she'd just clawed her way out of.

"For what?"

She didn't really know. "For listening, I guess," she replied, sighing. "For accepting this whole madness. For accepting me."

"I'll always be there for you, Caroline," he told her. "I know that what I said that day was cruel and hurtful, but I didn't mean a word of it. I hope you can—"

"I already forgave you, Sirius," she informed him with a slight chuckle. "I forgave you almost as soon as I'd left."

"Still, I acted like a git and I'm sorry for it."

"You always act like a git," Caroline quipped, laughter picking up when Sirius made an affronted noise. "It's one of the trademarks of your personality."

Sirius huffed, rolling his eyes. "Cauldron meet kettle," he muttered.

Caroline laughed loudly, sitting up from her nesting spot against his shoulder to give him a wicked look. "Don't you mean 'pot meet kettle'?"

"I like my version better," he replied, crossing his arms over his chest and sticking his nose up in the air.

"You would, you tosser," she shot back, shoving his shoulder lightly.

Rubbing his shoulder in faux-pain, Sirius grumbled, "Some best friend you are, Caroline. Dislocating my bloody shoulder like that."

His words made Caroline stop in her tracks. "Best friend?" She questioned, unsure what to think.

For the first time in her life, she watched as Sirius's face became tomato red. He refused to make eye contact as he visibly tried to hide his blush with his hands. "Yeah," he murmured, eyes on the floor. "You're one of my best friends."

A beaming smile broke out on Caroline's face as she moved closer and pulled Sirius into a tight hug. "You're one of my best friends too, Sirius," she agreed. Despite the apparent ridiculousness of this statement (after all the two only started hanging out at the beginning of term), she truly meant it. Something about them just clicked, hence why Caroline told him before anyone else about her dreams. Sirius understood her on a much deeper level than anyone else had.

"Don't tell James I said that, though," Sirius said when they pulled apart. "I'll never hear the end of it."

"I'd say the same about Dorcas," Caroline concurred, still grinning widely. "Although, it's your safety I'm concerned about more than mine. Dorcas would want to take out the competition."

* * *

The following evening was the always grand Halloween feast. Caroline, despite having made up with Sirius, still sat at the Hufflepuff table with Adam. She hadn't told him yet about making up with Sirius—actually, she hadn't told anyone about it yet. Though, they might've been able to figure it out on their own, as the two kept glancing at each other from across the room, smiling timidly. Neither one really knew where to go from here in regards to their friendship. Did they just act like nothing happened?

Each time she found herself meeting gray eyes, Caroline would blush and look down. She would then glance at Adam, who was sat next to her with his arm around her waist as he continued to eat. If he noticed her continual exchanges with the Marauder, he said nothing about it. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on who you asked), the back and forth was broken up when one of Adam's friends, Amos Diggory, sat down in the seat in front of Caroline, effectively blocking her view of the Gryffindor table.

In Diggory's hand was a copy of that day's Prophet, which he waved about wildly, gesturing for everyone nearby to listen in. "There's been another attack!" He announced rather loudly, pointing at the front-page article which was entitled "Missing Family's Bodies Found"

"Read it, Amos," Adam encouraged, setting down his fork and subconsciously tightening his hold around Caroline, who tried not to squirm in discomfort.

The other Hufflepuff skimmed over the article briefly before listing off the gist of the article. "A while back, the Prophet reported that a Muggleborn family had gone missing—one of many, of course—but recently their bodies were found in a park in Hampstead, with a Dark Mark in the sky above them. And their bodies, well, let's just say it ain't pretty."

The boys continued to discuss the attack as well as others that had preceded it. Caroline tuned them out, instead choosing to reach for the Daily Prophet that Diggory had since discarded as their conversation picked up. Her hand grabbed the edge of the newspaper and—

 _—unbearably hot. Smoke filled the air, making it impossible to breathe. Flames licked up the sides of the room, searing through the wallpaper and photographs. Burning, burning, everything was burning as flames continued to consume every surface. Eyes burned under the assault of smoke and fire, barely able to stay open._

 _Screams could be heard in the distance. It was a woman, crying out for help. Layered beneath her screams was the sound of crying—a baby. Louder and louder they both cried, yet it did nothing to stop their home from being consumed completely._

Help _, Caroline thought blearily._ They need help.

"Caroline!"

As fast as the vision came, it was gone and Caroline was no longer drowning in smoke, but instead sitting at the Hufflepuff table with everyone staring at her. Adam had both of his hands clamped onto her shoulders, eyes searching hers worriedly.

"Caroline, are you alright?" He asked, pulling her closer. "You were in a…a trance or something."

Shaking her head, Caroline smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, didn't sleep very well last night. I'm fine."

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes," she promised, though all the eyes locked on her certainly wasn't helping things. Pushing up from the table to stand, Caroline muttered, "I think I'll just go lie down for a bit."

"Caroline!" Adam called after her as she left, torn between following after her and letting her have her space.

As Caroline walked, her entire body still felt scorched by the flames from her vision. Her mind was fuzzy, struggling to connect with the world around her. Each step became more and more difficult to take, her feet dragging across the floor. She pressed a hand against her forehead, as though she could push away the cloudy haze from her mind.

Faintly, she could hear someone calling her name. She recognized the voice to be Sirius's.

"Sirius," she muttered before collapsing just as she reached the entrance to the Great Hall.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello, everyone! I know that I normally don't include author's notes, but I wanted to just take a moment and thank everyone for all the lovely reviews as well as any follows/favorites you've added for this story. It really does mean a lot to me!**

 **Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. I'm glad I've gotten the opportunity to update more during my winter break. Hopefully, I'll still be able to keep up semi-regular updates once classes start again.**

 **Thanks again!**


	12. Ch 12: A Hint of Mayhem

**Chapter 12: A Hint of Mayhem**

* * *

The first thing Caroline became aware of was a blinding brightness. Though her eyes were pressed shut, she could feel the rays trying to worm their way through. She instinctively moved her head to the side, only to hear a gasp followed by a flurry of voices.

"Madam Pomfrey! She's awake!"

"Caroline?"

"Caroline, can you hear us?"

She didn't really comprehend who was saying all this—or where she was—and instead chose to keep her eyes closed as she tried to figure out what she could last remember. Where had she been? What had she been doing?

"Maybe she's lost her hearing…"

"Wormtail, how the bloody hell would a fainting spell in the Great Hall make her deaf?"

The Great Hall! It was all flooding back to her now—Amos with the Daily Prophet, the fuzzy feeling, light-headedness, and that vision of burning houses. She could remember it all now, as clear as day, and felt an overwhelming sense of dread as she also realized where she was. The Hospital Wing. Another fainting spell and a trip to Madam Pomfrey would surely cause her infamy to only further increase—she shuddered to think of the rumors that had flown around last time.

It would no doubt be worse now, she decided. A weird trance in class was one thing, but to pass out in front of the entire school and staff in the middle of the Great Hall? She would be shocked if the Prophet didn't decide to come by for a feature. The students would be talking about this incident until Christmas—if not the end of term.

Thus, it was with great regret that Caroline chose to peel open her eyes and alert whoever else was there with her that she was, indeed, awake.

Her vision was slightly blurry, but as she blinked rapidly, a cluster of faces finally came into view. All packed around her small hospital bed was her friends—Dorcas, Lily, Marlene, and Mary—as well as the Marauders gang. She smiled widely, relieved to see them rather than Dumbledore looming over her bed.

"How're you feeling, Care?" Dorcas asked, who was by her right side, placing a hand on top of hers.

Caroline sighed. "Physically? Fine. Emotionally? I don't think humiliated is big enough a word to cover how embarrassed I am."

Dorcas squeezed her hand affectionately. "We all take a tumble now and again."

"Though usually our tumbles aren't witnessed by the entire population of Hogwarts," James mumbled, only to receive an elbow in the side from Lily, who finished it off with a stern glare. "Sorry," he added sheepishly.

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "Don't apologize, it's true. I think I may have sealed the record for the largest live audience to witness a fall."

Everyone laughed good-naturedly, though a few—namely, Peter—seemed a bit uncomfortable with the whole situation. Caroline scanned the crowd once more, looking for her boyfriend, and found him to be missing. "Has anyone seen Adam? I'm sure he's worried himself to death," Caroline joked lightly.

A long pause followed as the group all exchanged looks, a clear conversation happening between them about who would be the one to break the news. The silence continued as they still couldn't come to an agreement and Caroline was just at her wit's end—ready to throw her hands up and start shouting—when Sirius finally spoke up, "We, uh, we haven't seen him since last night. He helped get you to Pomfrey, but left not long after that. Said something about…"

The last part of Sirius's sentence sounded distinctly like "Quidditch practice" and Caroline couldn't help the long sigh that eased out. Despite feeling glad that he wasn't fawning all over her, a small part of her couldn't help but think that—had the roles been reversed and he was in the Hospital Wing—she would've stayed with him until she was sure he was well and on his way to recovery.

Fortunately, she was saved from having to come up with an excuse to her friends by Madam Pomfrey pushing through the teens. "Out of my way!" The small woman declared, nearly knocking out Peter in her haste to get to Caroline. Placing a few potions on the small table beside her bed, she turned to Caroline's friends and ordered, "Go on to class. I'll take care of Miss Grayson from here."

Dorcas and Sirius put up a bit of a fight, trying to get permission to miss class and stay, but eventually conceded and followed the others out the door. With the pack of teens out of her way, Madam Pomfrey was much more relaxed, making small talk as she checked Caroline's vital signs and gave her a bit of a Pepper-Up Potion.

"Everything seems quite fine to me, Miss Grayson," Pomfrey finally announced, placing her hands on her hips. "However, the Headmaster is concerned and wishes to come speak to you himself. He should be along any moment." With that, she was gone, heading over to treat a first-year who had been on the receiving end of a hex that turned them an unfortunate teal color.

Not long after the witch had left, the doors to the Hospital Wing opened to reveal Professor Dumbledore—only he wasn't alone. Tottering along behind him was a petite woman in sleek ivory robes that billowed around her, emulating the graceful movements of a swan's wings. Her salt and pepper locks slicked back into a tight bun, emphasizing the angular nature of her face. The makeup she had on was minimal, yet bold—little makeup on the face and eyes, but a magenta shade on her lips, which were pulled into a tight line.

"Ah, Miss Grayson," the Headmaster called as he swept across the room, unknown woman in tow. "I'm glad to see you up and about so soon after your fall."

Her face heated at the mention of her fainting spell—it was one thing to joke about with friends, it was another to have it addressed by your elderly Headmaster. Nonetheless, Caroline pasted on a polite smile and nodded in acknowledgment. "Feeling quite better now, sir," she said, trying to keep her gaze from flitting to obviously at the man's guest.

"Allow me to introduce my companion," Dumbledore stated, gesturing towards the small woman with a wide, spindly hand. "This is Madame Desma Rousseau. She's agreed to tutor you, as we discussed previously?"

Recognition struck Caroline like a bolt of lightning. "Of course!" She exclaimed, smile a bit more genuine. "I'm grateful for any assistance you can provide, Madame Rousseau."

"Ze pleasair iz all mine, cherie," the older woman replied in a thick French accent.

"Madame Rousseau will be coming to the castle once a week to meet with you in the evening."

"We will do great zings togezzer," Madame Rousseau vowed to Caroline, giving her a look that communicated almost a level of kinship. Was this woman a Seer? Did she understand the fear that Caroline felt, every night before she went to sleep? Had she too tried to stay awake, in hopes of preventing things she might see?

Gulping, Caroline tried to smile back at this strange woman and hide the real fear she felt at the possibility of facing her dreams head on. "Wonderful," she managed to croak out.

* * *

Once released with a clean bill of health, Caroline threw herself into Quidditch practice for the rest of the week, as that weekend was the first match of the season and an important one to be sure—it was the match between Slytherin and Gryffindor. Despite trying to maintain her usual cool façade, Caroline desperately wanted to win this game. Nothing gave her greater pleasure than the idea of Slytherin winning the Quidditch Cup all thanks to the coaching of a "dirty blood traitor" like herself.

Now that she had repaired her friendship with Sirius had gone back to normal—as well as their seats in Potions—Caroline was subjected to smack talk from her Gryffindor friends on a near-constant basis. James was the worst, as the captain of Gryffindor's team and holding the same position as Caroline, but she was surprised to find that even Lily was passionate enough to give her a ribbing or two ("It's nothing against you, Caroline, but I'll die if I have to listen to your housemates' bragging for the rest of our lives.")

Despite her near-constant focus on Quidditch, she still has enough space in her head to recognize that she's also spending a lot of time with Sirius. Since they were friends once again—and had non-verbally agreed never to speak of the content of their fight again—the amount of time the spent together resumed. Everywhere she went, that's where she was. She'd barred him from watching Slytherin practice as it would distract her team (and her, though she'd left that part out), but the rest of their time was spent together.

She'd made excuses to Adam about practicing for the game, which he accepted happily and without question (a fact that ate away at Caroline to no end). Logically, Caroline knew that she was just falling back into her old routine with Sirius—it was clearly unhealthy to make time for him, yet not for her own boyfriend—but she'd lost the ability to care anymore. She'd tried to cut herself off from him, cold turkey, and that'd lasted for what? Two weeks? It was becoming clear to Caroline that, despite the emotional ramifications for her behavior, she was incapable of being without Sirius. So, she planned to get her proverbial "fix" in whatever form it came—even if that meant him dozing off while she studied or his not-so-subtle attempts to distract her while she planned Quidditch formations.

The day of the big game, the whole of Hogwarts was buzzing with activity. Slytherin and Gryffindor were widely regarded as the best teams in school, so their game was always an interesting one to watch. It was particularly interesting to the student body this year because the two captains were actually _friends_ —shocking, to be sure. The students chattered about whether the friendship would tone down the events of the game or intensify them.

At breakfast that morning, Caroline had mandated the team sit together to demonstrate symbolic unity and also to provide some comfort for the new players, who were visibly nervous. Regulus, who'd recovered from his injuries and kept his insults to himself since their last confrontation, pushed around the eggs on his plate as his gray eyes remained locked on the table, unseeing. Caroline thought about saying something—offering some modicum of comfort—but realized that it would only anger him.

Later, when the teams got up from their respective tables, Caroline went over to where James and all the other Gryffindors sat.

"Boo!" Marlene called lightly, her entire body decked out in red and gold. "No snakes allowed!"  
Caroline rolled her eyes good-naturedly, smiling. "I just came to wish the other captain luck considering he's going to need it."

Their friends let out a low "ooh" as James stood up from the table. "I'm not the one who's been frantically trying to pull together a hodge-podge of players at the last minute," the messy-haired boy retorted, grinning widely.

"Darling," Caroline said, shaking her head and crossing her arms over her chest. "In case you've forgotten, I've beat entire teams on my own, as opposed to yourself, who still struggles to get dressed on your own."

The table went "ooh" even louder this time, turning to see if James had a reply. "We'll just have to see on the pitch, won't we?" He retorted lamely, wincing at his fumbling of words. He wasn't used to being put on the spot like this; typically, it was the other way around.

Chuckling, Caroline agreed, "I guess we will," and then turned on her heel to head back where her team was standing at the exit of the Great Hall, watching her with no small amount of suspicion. They would never be able to understand how their captain could have such a jovial relationship with Marauders, arguably the worst members of Gryffindor in their minds. Together, they headed out to the pitch.

* * *

The two teams flew out onto the pitch amid the roars of their fellow students—and even a few staff members. As per tradition, the two teams formed a circle in the air around where Madam Hooch stood on the pitch. Each player tilted downwards, watching intently as she approached the chest that was wriggling in the center of the field.

"Now, I want a nice, clean game," Hooch began—as she did with every single game since the dawn of time—before launching into a brief play by play of the rules. As she droned on about the illegality of blagging and cobbing, Caroline caught an odd movement out of the corner of her eye. Glancing over to where some of the Slytherin students were standing, she saw a dark, cloaked figure pushing their way through the crowd, knocking down a few students along the way. The sight was confusing and Caroline planned to watch further when she heard the click of a latch being lifted and whipped back around to watch as Madam Hooch let out the Bludgers and Snitch, the golden-winged ball flitting around their ears before flying off in the opposite direction of the players.

Grabbing hold of the Quaffle, Madam Hooch blew her whistle and threw it up in the air, thus beginning the game. Almost immediately, James got hold of the Quaffle and began flying towards the Slytherin goal hoops. Caroline and one of Slytherin's other Chasers trailed closely behind him, dodging interference from other Gryffindor players.

When he threw the Quaffle towards the lower left of the three hoops, Slytherin's Keeper easily kicked the ball out of the way and into Caroline's hands. Smirking, she and the two other Chasers fell into a Hawkshead Attacking Formation—it was a move they'd practiced with many times, where Caroline flew at the front with the other two players flanking her on either side, allowing them to push through the other team to get to their goals.

As they reached the hoops and Caroline reared back to give it a good toss, she looked through the hoop she was aiming to find that cloaked figure now standing at the front of the stands directly across from her. The world suddenly began to move in slow motion as many things happened all at once. Her hand released the Quaffle sending it barreling through the top hoop, Gryffindor's Keeper just barely missing it. At the same time, she watched as the cloaked figure—whose entire face and body were obscured—raised their arm to reveal a single pale hand, clutching a wand.

In the same instance that the Quaffle scored points for Slytherin, a dark red curse came shooting out of the person's wand and hit Caroline right in the middle of the chest. She could only comprehend the sensation of falling from a great height, her entire body bracing itself for impact. She landed in the sand pit below the goals and the world suddenly became rushing back to full speed, the sound of screams and shouting hitting her ears as she struggled to breathe.

The curse took over her body as she screamed—whatever Caroline had been hit with, it made her entire body feel as though it were on fire. She cried and rolled around desperately in the sand, trying to put out the fire. Even though in the back of her mind she knew there was no fire, only the searing sensation of fire biting away at her skin, Caroline continued to try and put it out.

She tried to reach up and rip off the padding on her body, that maybe the problem was in her clothes, but the movement only increased her pain and so she was left laying there, her arms thrashing about her sides. She wanted to yell for help, but her lips were incapable of forming words, instead her mouth releasing a high-pitched howl. The longer she laid in the sand, the hotter her skin became. She was sure she could even smell her own burnt flesh, which only further increased her terror and tears.

"P-Please," she finally managed to grunt out through gritted teeth, the tears leaking out of her bloodshot eyes. All of her other senses were beginning to fade—she could think of nothing other than the pain consuming her entire body. Vaguely, she thought she could hear voices responding to her, but it was impossible to know if it was real or just a desperate wish on her own part.

Then—just as suddenly as this all occurred—the pain was completely gone and Caroline was left lying in the sand, her entire body shaking. Finally, able to regain some sense of her surrounding, she turned her head to the side to find both teams had landed and gathered on the pitch, watching her worriedly. Closer to her were Professor McGonagall and the Headmaster, the latter of which was obviously responsible for stopping the curse.

As soon as her eyes met Dumbledore's misty blue ones, the waterworks started again and all Caroline could manage to get out was, "W-What…happened?"

* * *

After Caroline was safely transported from the Quidditch pitch to the Hospital Wing—she could almost see the disbelief in Madam Pomfrey's eyes at her speedy return—she was left by Dumbledore and McGonagall to be poked and prodded for an hour or so. Madam Pomfrey did her best to try and help the girl, but it was clear early on that the damage done by the curse was not physical—it was mental. Every time Caroline looked down at her hands or arms, she expected to see severe burns or malformed skin, instead finding herself in the exact same condition as before the game.

Before the Headmaster had left, he'd specifically forbidden Caroline from seeing any visitors. While she understood that he was concerned for her safety, her friends might've been able to distract her from the horror of what just occurred. As is, her mind kept going back to that cloaked figure, agonizing over every detail in her brain. Did the cloak have anything distinct about them? What about the hand—was is withered and gnarled, indicating a level of age? Unfortunately, each examination of the memory left her with more questions than answers.

Finally, Dumbledore returned to the Hospital Wing. As he opened the entrance to the room, Caroline could see a large group of students lingering outside, their faces pushing around the Headmaster to try and see in. _Great_ , Caroline thought derisively, _I've been made a spectacle of this school once again._

"How are you feeling, Miss Grayson?" The Headmaster inquired as he came closer, silvery robes billowing behind him. He reached out and pulled up a small chair to sit beside her.

"Physically? Fine," she replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "Mentally? Like I've been put through the ringer."

"You are a strong young woman," Dumbledore complimented. "You have handled the situation with a surprising amount of serenity—most people in your place might've 'gone off the deep end', as they say."

Caroline sighed. "I did enough crying and screaming on that field while my skin felt like it was being burnt to a crisp. Now I just want some damn answers." She watched as the older man avoided looking at her in favor of glancing out the large windows behind her. "And I have a feeling you can give me those answers."

"It is my belief," Dumbledore stated, pushing himself to his feet and going to the window, "that the attack on you was conducted by a follower of You-Know-Who. Possibly a student that has been won over to the cause."

At his words, Caroline couldn't help but think of Regulus Black. While she knew he wasn't the attacker—he was on the pitch himself, it was virtually impossible—it was still troubling to know that there were others like him in the castle. Others that were probably much less conflicted about the duties that came with being a Death Eater.

"I am concerned, Miss Grayson," he continued on, finally turning around to meet her gaze. "I fear that one of You-Know-Who's followers may have found out about your abilities and reported it to him. You may be targeted even further, if that proves to be true."

"With all due respect, sir," Caroline said, sitting up on the stiff bed below her, "it is equally likely that the attack had to do with my family—it's no secret that my mother's status as a blood traitor has less than endeared me to my classmates. Particularly those within my house. And how could anyone have even found out about my…abilities?"

Dumbledore eyed her warily, as though unsure of the next words coming out of his mouth. "You haven't told anyone of your dreams yet, have you? Not even a letter to your mother, perhaps?"

Unwittingly, Caroline's mind flashed to Sirius, to that night together in the middle of the hallway. She realized, however, that her hesitation to give an answer was as good as one for the Headmaster, who let out a small sigh and turned away. "No," Caroline lied quickly, desperately. "No, I haven't told anyone. They'd think I was crazy!" She was still finding hard to believe that Sirius didn't think she was at least a little bit crazy.

"Nonetheless," Dumbledore continued, "it is safest if we operate under the assumption that you are in danger."

"What are you going to do? Put me under house arrest?" Caroline asked in disbelief.

Her words brought an amused twinkle to Dumbledore's eye. "Not exactly. However, I advise that you not go anywhere without some form of supervision—be it a friend or otherwise—and I am also revoking all privileges that involve putting you in a vulnerable position. These privileges include Hogsmeade visits and playing Quidditch."

"This is _bullshit_!" She burst out. At the Headmaster's startled look, Caroline attempted to reign in her anger and added a bit more calmly, "I think this is all a bit extreme, don't you?"

The Headmaster, clearly done discussing the matter, fixed her with a stern look and stated, "Miss Grayson, if it were one of your friends in the same position, what exactly would you advise them to do?"

Caroline had no reply for that because she knew—she'd encourage them to listen to Dumbledore and keep themselves safe, even if it meant being excluded from any and all fun for the foreseeable future. "Alright, I see your point," she said. "But can I at least go to Hogsmeade if I agree to only attend with other people? Strength in numbers and all that."

Dumbledore seemed to ponder this and, when his expression indicated he may not agree, Caroline desperately threw out, "Please, sir, don't make me suffer more than absolutely necessary."

The professor chuckled softly, his visage softening the barest amount. "Alright, I will concede on that occasion alone—but still take care when you are out and about in Hogsmeade. There's not much I nor your professors can do once you leave the walls of this castle."

His words sent an uncomfortable chill down Caroline's spine and she nodded slowly. With that, Dumbledore made his exit and, as he did so, allowed Caroline's friends—who were still waiting outside the door—to come in. The hoard of Gryffindors—plus Dorcas and Mary—came rushing in, still decked out in red and gold to support the team.

"Merlin!" Dorcas exclaimed, rushing over first and throwing her arms around Caroline tightly. "I never thought they'd let us in. I was convinced you were dead!"

"I'm fine," Caroline tried to reassure her, but the response only made her friend tighten her arms around her. She gently disentangled the other girl from around her and tried to put on what she hoped was a brave face. "Really, Dorcas. I'm perfectly alright."

"I am so sorry, Caroline," James cut in, still wearing all of his Quidditch gear and looking all sorts of distressed. "I swear, if the person who cursed you was from Gryffindor and trying to-to throw the game or something, I'll—"

Caroline raised a hand to cut him off. "Don't worry about it, James. Honestly, it's just as likely to be someone from my house as well—you know I'm not exactly popular with the pureblood elitists in there."

"Did Dumbledore say who did it? Do they have any idea what happened?" Sirius asked, placing a hand on her arm. She was startled to find that he was the closest person to her, besides Dorcas, who still refused to move more than a foot away from her.

Caroline hesitated, unsure how to respond. If it were just the two of them, she would've told him the whole truth—about You-Know-Who and the strong possibility that she was in danger. However, none of that would make sense to the rest of the people in the room.

"He just said that he was looking into it," she lied, shrugging her shoulders.

An awkward silence fell over the group as everyone struggled to find something else to say—something to detract from the heavy weight of what happened that day. Glancing around her, Mary piped up cheerily, "Well, at least you'll have a rematch with Gryffindor to look forward to! Obviously, the game couldn't go on today without you."

Caroline fought back a wince. Not the best choice of follow up topics, though the poor Hufflepuff girl couldn't have known that. "Actually, about that…" Caroline mumbled, avoiding eye contact with just about everyone in the room. "Dumbledore has also mandated that I'm not allowed to play Quidditch for the rest of the season."

There was a flurry of outrage that followed.

"What?!"

"That's not fair!"

"But you're the captain!"

The last reply—coming from a fiery looking Marlene—made Caroline let out a long sigh. "I guess that means I'll have to appoint a new one in my stead. That'll be loads of fun…"

"Why can't you play?" Lily asked. Caroline could already see the little cogs in her head turning as she tried to think up some sort of loophole—some solution for the problem at hand. Unfortunately, this time there wasn't one.

"He's just concerned that something bad might happen again," Caroline said, but immediately regretted it. To be so concerned about her safety that he banned her from playing Quidditch was much more severe than she'd previously stated.

Lily noticed this. "You mean, he thinks this might happen to you again?"

Again, Caroline tried to play it off with a shrug. "He didn't say." Glancing to her left, her eyes met Sirius's, who was clearly communicating with her that he didn't believe her story. His expression seemed to demand some sort of further explanation.

Before Caroline had to be subjected to further interrogation, Madam Pomfrey intervened by scuttling over. "Get along now, dears. I have one more potion for Miss Grayson and then she'll be on her way. Save her a seat in the Great Hall and she should be down by dinner."

The group—having been now kicked out by Madam Pomfrey more than once—obeyed, slowly making their way towards the door. Sirius, however, lingered back for a moment, watching as their friends slowly left. As Madam Pomfrey went to grab something else, he leaned down and whispered, "Meet me at the usual place. Tonight."

Caroline fought back a shiver at his close proximity, but he was up and gone before she had a chance to say anything in reply. She knew that she'd be facing another inquisition from Sirius, but the idea of spending time with him was enjoyable enough for her that she didn't mind. Besides, he'd become something of a confidant for her. However, she found it hard to believe that Sirius would react positively to the news of a possible target on her back.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello, everyone! Two hospital visits in one chapter? Caroline's life sure is exciting, haha!**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'd love to hear your theories about who's behind the attack on Caroline or if You-Know-Who really has found out about her dreams...or if none of that tickles your fancy, that's fine too! I've been really enjoying your feedback thus far and can't wait to get more!**

 **Thanks again and don't forget to review, favorite, follow, and all that good stuff!**


	13. Ch 13: Silhouettes and Shadows

**Chapter 13: Silhouettes and Shadows**

* * *

Caroline was forced to spend dinner with Adam at the Hufflepuff table, who seemed to be overcompensating for his absence from earlier. The entire evening was spent with his arm wrapped around her, holding her close. He spent much of dinner telling her about how she'd surely beat Gryffindor in the rematch and raged against the unfairness of someone attacking her mid-game—all while bits of food fell from the corners of his lips. Caroline didn't have the heart to tell him everything—that there would be no more Quidditch in her future—though, to be fair, she'd barely had the chance to open her mouth.

As dinner was finishing up and Adam had finally stopped eating, she glanced across the room and immediately found those familiar gray eyes. Sirius was watching her with a pinched expression, brows furrowed deeply. She raised an eyebrow, communicating a silent question of "What's wrong?" He responded with a curt shake of his head, followed by a not-so-subtle nod towards the door.

Glancing up at Adam, who was telling some funny story from Quidditch practice, Caroline looked back and let her head fall down in the minutest of nods. With that, Sirius muttered some excuses to his friends, who paid him no mind, and then headed out the door with one last look to Caroline. She followed to do the same, only to have Adam suddenly take notice of her and pull her back down to the table.

"Where are you going?" He asked. The genuine concern in his eyes made her stomach churn with guilt—if only he knew where she was going and with whom.

"Bed. I'm feeling a bit tired from...everything," she lied lamely, scratching the back of her neck. She snuck a look at the Gryffindor table and found Lily observing her with emerald eyes that belied an uncomfortable level of acuity. Blushing, Caroline swiftly turned away and said, "I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"

Adam smiled gently. "Of course," he assured her, leaning forward to kiss her.

At the last second, Caroline turned her head to the side so he missed her mouth and landed on her cheek instead. If he was startled by the sudden movement, he hid it well, as Adam turned back to finish telling his story with an easy air about him. Caroline stood up and—careful to avoid looking at her friends—headed out of the Great Hall.

She made quick work of getting up to the seventh floor, slowing her rapid pace whenever she passed another student. When she did get to where she was going, Sirius was leaning casually against the wall, waiting for her. At her appearance, his dark expression brightened considerably, which did nothing to slow down Caroline's frantic heartbeat.

Sirius approached her, that familiar grin in place. Tossing his dark curls out of his eyes, he asked, "Shall we?"

Caroline waved her hand out and replied, "After you."

With that, Sirius walked back and forth in front of the wall the required number of times, puffing up his chest when the intricate iron curves of the door began to appear. Placing his hand on the large metal handle, Sirius pulled the door open and then gestured for Caroline to go in first. She made a show of curtsying grandly, just to make the boy laugh, before she stepped out into that familiar meadow— _their_ meadow, as she'd found herself calling it in her head.

This time, however, there was a large woven blanket laid out in the grass. Glancing back at Sirius curiously, Caroline found him holding a large picnic basket in his hands.

"I noticed that you didn't eat much at dinner," he said, "so I swiped some extras from the kitchens on my way here."

Caroline smiled. She'd lost her appetite upon watching her boyfriend and his teammates eat enough food for 50 people in the span of about 10 minutes. "Thank you, Sirius. That was very thoughtful."

She fought back a laugh when her words caused him to blush lightly. "Yeah, sure," he muttered gruffly, stomping past her and plopping himself down on the blanket. He kept his back to her and started digging through the basket, pulling out food left and right. The spread wasn't particularly grand, consisting of sandwiches, pumpkin juice, berries, chips, and then one large slice of chocolate cake.

Sitting down next to him quietly, Caroline began to dig in without any encouragement, sighing happily at the first few bites. She hadn't realized how hungry she'd been until she began eating. And, of course, the food was as delicious as it always is. Sirius even ate a bit himself, the two of them chewing in companionable silence.

Once they'd both had enough and put away what food was left, they laid out on the blanket as they had before, gazing up at the starry night sky.

"What did he say?" Sirius suddenly asked.

"Who?" Caroline replied, though she knew exactly what he was asking about. She'd hoped they might avoid the topic of her attack and Dumbledore—at least for a little while. Then she could allow herself to believe this was a pleasant outing, rather than an interrogation by Sirius.

"You know exactly who I'm talking about," he stated, not unkindly. "And don't give me any of that clueless bullshit from before, in the Hospital Wing."

She sighed. "You know I had to say that stuff for the others' sakes."

"Well, it's just us now, so tell me the truth," he persisted. "What did Dumbledore say?"

Caroline felt conflicted, as she appreciated Sirius's concern yet simultaneously wanted to throttle him for pestering her. "First and foremost, he banned me from Quidditch, as you know. He also tried to ban me from going to Hogsmeade, but I managed to talk my way out of that one."

"Why?"

She sent him a particularly nasty look. "Would you just shut your mouth for two seconds, Sirius Orion Black?" He held his hands up in surrender and Caroline had to bite her lip to conceal a smile threatening to take over her face. "Anyway, this is all because Dumbledore fears—and I want to emphasize this is only a _theory_ of his, he isn't sure yet—but he fears that You-Know-Who has found out about my visions and sent one of his little henchmen to take me out. He's afraid that I've been put at the top of his hit list."

As she predicted previously, Sirius did not take the news well. He was up on his feet in an instant, pacing back and forth as he ran his hands through his already tousled locks. He was saying something, but it was hard for Caroline to make out as he mumbled most of it under his breath. She believed that he might've been formulating some sort of escape plan for her—a strategy to smuggle her out of Hogwarts and ship her off to Timbuktu.

Letting out another heaving sigh, she sat up and grabbed hold of Sirius's trouser leg, effectively stopping him in his tracks. "Sit down, will you? Your pacing is stressing me out."

" _I'm_ stressing you out?" Sirius asked, disbelieving (though Caroline did note with no small amount of smugness that he still obeyed and sat back down). "You were just told earlier today that You-Know-Who wants you dead and _I'm_ the one stressing you out?!"

"Honestly, Sirius, it's just a theory. He has no concrete evidence supporting it," Caroline tried to remind him, while still hardly believing it herself. "Besides, it is just as likely that someone from Slytherin cursed me because they don't want some blood traitor leading their Quidditch team. It's no secret that most of my housemates barely tolerate my existence."

Sirius didn't look very convinced. "You can't act like this is no big deal, Caroline," he warned in a tone much resembling that of a stern father. Suddenly, an energized look sparked in his stormy eyes and he asked, "Are you being protected? Dumbledore should have someone watching you."

 _Dear Merlin, he's actually worse than Dumbledore_ , she thought. "No, there will be no bodyguards or babysitters of any kind."

"If they're not protecting you, then I will," Sirius vowed, puffing up his chest in that way he did to particularly affirm his masculinity. It was in moments like this that Caroline questioned her willingness to frequently surround herself with Gryffindors—particularly Gryffindors with a hero complex.

"Please don't do this," she groaned. "I just want things to be normal and normal definitely does not involve being followed around 24/7. It's not like I'm a celebrity like…like Farrah Fawcett or something!"

"Who's—"

"It doesn't matter!" Caroline cut in loudly, feeling at her wit's end and ready to start pulling her hair out at any minute. "The point is you are not being rational and I refuse to allow you to stalk me regularly."

Sirius smirked. "As if you could stop me, even if you tried."

Unfortunately, he was right. Caroline had witnessed enough of his antics with the other Marauders over the years to recognize that, once they put their minds to something, there was no stopping them. Plus, it would be even more exhausting to constantly be checking over her shoulder for Sirius.

"Fine!" Caroline exclaimed, throwing her hands up. "Do whatever you want, but I reserve the right to hex you if things get out of hand. Now," she continued, lying down and patting the space beside her on the blanket, "get your knickers all out of a twist and relax—lay down with me."

He did as she said and laid down beside her, though she did receive a bit of a dirty look for the knickers remark.

Just as before, Caroline was acutely aware of how close together the two of them were, the skin on her arms and legs breaking out in goosebumps. As her eyes stared up into the starry night sky, the backs of her fingers brushed against his. Again, a chill ran down her spine and her heart rate picked up when he tentatively—but very much deliberately—stroked her fingers with his, eventually tangling them together.

Caroline let out a deep breath, her chest sagging down slowly. She felt a deep sense of comfort and care at Sirius's touch, one that she couldn't fully explain with words. His touch was like climbing into a warm bed on a cold winter's night or watching rain droplets roll down your windowpane. It filled her with this serenity that spread all over her body.

She became so comfortable, so at ease in their little world that her eyes began to flutter closed and, before she knew it, the two of them were fast asleep.

* * *

Caroline gradually began to awaken, startled to find a bright sun beating down on her. _Where was she?_ As she moved to sit up, her bed underneath her shifted and mumbled. Eyes popping open in surprise, Caroline looked down to find herself practically laying on top of Sirius, who was still asleep.

Looking around, she realized that they were still in the meadow, laid out on a wide blanket with a picnic basket sat to the side. _The Room of Requirement must mimic the sunlight based on the time of day_ , she realized. It was very strange to be here in the day, where the sky was pure blue and filled with a blinding sun, rather than pitch black and smattered with sparkling stars. But, if the sun was out, then that meant…

Jumping up to her feet with a gasp, Caroline frantically tried to straighten out her clothes, as she was still wearing her Quidditch uniform from the night before. "Sirius!" She hissed at the still-slumped-over teenager. "Sirius Black! Wake up!"

When he refused to stir, she gave him a not-so-gentle kick in the side. Despite the loud grunt he let out (followed by a few choice words), it was an effective method in waking the boy up. "What?" He growled, glaring up at her.

"We fell asleep!" She told him frantically, running over to grab the picnic basket he brought. "Time to get the hell out of here, Sleeping Beauty."

"Who the bloody hell is—"

"It doesn't matter!" Caroline yelled, clenching her fists to resist the urge to kick Sirius again. "The point is we have to go. _Now_."

Grumbling under his breath, the equally disheveled Sirius got up from his spot on the ground and jerked the picnic basket from her hands, making no attempts to hide his annoyance. The two quickly walked out of the Room of Requirement and said a brief goodbye before Caroline went tearing off to the dungeons to change clothes before her classes.

She managed to get back and change in record time, at the minor cost of getting strange looks from the other seventh year girls in Slytherin, who were leaving their dormitory just as she came running in. As she was leaving and heading to class, she came across the last person she wanted to see: Adam.

"Caroline!" He called out, lightly jogging to catch up with her. "I didn't see you at breakfast. Are you feeling alright?"

As with the night before, her boyfriend's empathetic nature and general care for others' well-being—particularly hers—made Caroline squirm guiltily. Would he be so eager to please if he knew who she'd spent the whole night with? She tried to cover up her worries with a tight smile and said, "Just wasn't hungry. I'm actually on my way to Transfiguration, so…"

"I'll walk with you," he replied, winding an arm around her as he did so. The two began to head off towards McGonagall's classroom at a brisk pace, all while Caroline could feel her heart in her throat. Adam's hovering—while normally sweet and much appreciated—was only further increasing her anxiety.

When they arrived at the door, he leaned down to kiss her goodbye. In much the same manner as the night before at dinner, Caroline turned her head to the side at the last minute, forcing him to kiss her cheek chastely instead. This time, when he straightened back up much slower than usual, Caroline could see the confusion in his eyes—yet he still tried to fake a smile for her sake, murmuring one last goodbye before he went off to his own classroom.

Her shame didn't fade throughout the entire day. Anytime she saw Sirius—who, due to his self-imposed mission to protect, was now popping up everywhere—her stomach did a little dip, a reminder of the night before. She tried to tell herself it was fine and justify the evening with the assertion that, if the evening had been spent with Dorcas or Lily or any of the other girls instead of Sirius, she would have no reason to feel guilty. However, it was important to note that she'd also never felt the urge to snog any of them.

Somehow, despite Dumbledore's pseudo-quarantine, Caroline was still liable for her prefect duties—on this night, in particular, she was responsible for completing her rounds. She was surprised she wasn't deemed too "at risk" by the Headmaster to perform such a task—perhaps he feared the fallout of having to explain why she couldn't walk the halls at night once a week. She couldn't help but think (rather sternly as she walked to her assigned zone from the Slytherin common room) that, if she was truly as endangered as Dumbledore believed, leaving her alone in the castle at night was a terrible idea.

Caroline came to an abrupt halt when she found Remus waiting for her on the fifth floor. "What are you doing here?" She asked. Had she gotten her placement wrong? Or the night she was assigned?

"I'm your partner for the evening," he said with a wry grin. Despite the smile, there were dark bags under the boy's eyes and his appearance seemed much more haggard than usual, his skin taking on a sallow tone that she found quite concerning.

"Are you sure?" She asked, walking closer. "You look a bit out of it—not your usual handsome self." The last part did as she'd hoped, prompting another smile from her companion.

Shaking his head, Remus replied, "I'm fine. Just a bit low on sleep." He gestured for them to begin their slow stroll throughout the castle and so they did, falling into a steady pace side by side.

"How have you been?" Caroline inquired, genuinely interested yet also fearful of an awkward silence falling over them. "We haven't seen much of each other so far."

"Fine. Up to the usual, keeping those nutters I call friends in line and all that," he replied. "What about you? I bet you're going mad now that Quidditch is off your plate."

She sighed and resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the reminder of Dumbledore's stupid rules. "Ugh, it's complete shit. I had to tell Slughorn about my stepping down and you want to know who he appointed as captain? Bloody _Avery_!"

Arcus Avery was known for two things: his affinity for cruelty and complete lack of brains. He was a Beater on the Quidditch team and got by on pure brute force, though he often incited penalties on their team for knocking down players illegally. Caroline had wanted to get rid of him but knew that there was no point in inciting a war between herself and the pureblood elitists of Hogwarts. She already had enough of a target on her back, as is.

Remus winced. "Oh, that's definitely not good."

"Anyway, I'd like to go ahead and congratulate you now on winning the Quidditch cup, as Slytherin will be lucky if they even make on the field under that dunderhead's wise judgment," Caroline solemnly stated, earning a loud laugh from her companion. "Knowing him, he'll start hexing players for scoring points for their team."

"Maybe you'll get lucky and his abnormally large head will weigh down his broom so much that he can't get off the ground," he offered with a smile.

Caroline scoffed. "If it hasn't slowed him down by now, it never will." She paused as a grim thought came over her. "I still find it hard to stomach a look at Avery and Mulciber, after what they did to Mary."

During their fifth year, the two boys decided it would be a great bit of fun to practice the Dark Arts on Mary. They anonymously sent her a necklace that was cursed to lacerate and horribly scar her hands as soon as she touched it. She spent a week in the Hospital Wing with Madam Pomfrey, who was, fortunately, able to reverse the damages. However, the experience was still scarring for the poor girl. Not to mention Avery and Mulciber were never punished, as they couldn't tie the object back to them—though everyone at Hogwarts knew the truth.

Remus, equally somber at the mention of Mary's attack, nodded his head.

Shaking off the dark cloud hanging over her thoughts, Caroline attempted for a lighter mood and pondered aloud, "I wonder why we ended up paired together for rounds." A mischievous look came over her face and she added gleefully, "Maybe I should say our Head Girl is displaying favoritism, just to see her face turn that dark shade of tomato red when she gets mad."

The two chuckled at the mental image. Only one, messy-haired individual had managed to make Lily that upset and it was truly a sight to behold. Alas, since James had become Head Boy, he'd avoiding inciting such a level of ire from the redhead.

"While that would definitely bring back some fond memories," Remus conceded, smiling wistfully, "I'm actually not really assigned to round tonight."

Caroline stopped in her tracks, eyeing the Gryffindor boy suspiciously. "Who in their right mind decides to go on rounds when it's not their shift?" Almost as soon as the words left her lips, a realization struck her and it's all she could do not to scream.

Simultaneously, the two stated, "Sirius."

Letting out a huffing sigh, Caroline muttered, "The boy has lost his bloody mind."

Remus wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into a half hug before urging her to continue their walk. She dragged her feet but ultimately obeyed his gentle nudging. "Don't be too mad," he encouraged gently. "He's clearly worried about you."

Her stomach dropped at his words, glancing up at him fearfully. How much had Sirius told him? As if sensing her anxiety, Remus quickly added, "Mind, he wouldn't tell me why I absolutely _had_ to accompany you on rounds, but he seemed desperate enough that I didn't ask."

"He's being an idiotic git," Caroline replied a bit loudly, causing one of the portraits around them to wake long enough to shush her before falling back into a deep slumber. With a murmured apology, she then added, "He refuses to believe that I can take care of myself."

Remus kept quiet for a moment, his furrowed brow belying a deep consideration over what he would say next. Finally, he said, "I know it's none of my business, but if Sirius is really that concerned, you're obviously in more danger than Dumbledore was willing to let on."

She looked up into his kind, chocolate eyes and knew there was no way she could lie to him. Shakily nodding her head, Caroline murmured, "I hope you understand that I can't tell you anything. The whole situation is…complicated."

"We all have our secrets," Remus responded loftily, breaking eye contact with her. Again, Caroline found herself lingering on the pallid color of his skin, on the scars she could see peeking up through the collar of his shirt. What kind of secrets had this quiet boy lived with? Did he at least have someone to share the load with?

"Please, Remus," Caroline whispered, abruptly halting their leisurely pace. She forced Remus to make eye contact with her again before saying, "I would appreciate it if you kept this whole…situation between us."

Remus chuckled. "Sirius already beat you to the punch. I've been sworn into secrecy on pain of death," he replied. "Though, even without such a promise, I would've kept it to myself anyway."

Caroline couldn't help but smile up at him. Despite not knowing the boy very well, she knew him to be extremely loyal to those he considered his friends. "I know. It just makes me worry a bit less if I hear the words myself."

Taking her hands in his, Remus looked her dead in the eyes and vowed, "Any knowledge of your situation that I may possess will stay strictly between me, you, and Sirius—unless I'm told otherwise."

The heavy weight in her stomach lifted and Caroline felt considerably lighter. Squeezing his hand, she said, "Thank you, Remus." And then the two began their walk once more, a pleasant and companionable silence falling over them.

Eventually, the moment was broken by Remus.

"He really cares about you, you know?" He said. "Sirius, I mean."

 _Merlin, save me_ , Caroline thought, fighting the heat she could feel overcoming her face. "Well, I care about him, too," she said lamely, the words sounding stiff and pitchy to her own ears.

Remus sighed. "I just mean…well, he's never prioritized any girl the way he has you."

The words had Caroline stopping in her tracks. "Wait, what?" She all but demanded. "What do you mean?"

He held his hands up. "That's all I'm saying. If you want to delve deeper into what that means, I suggest you talk to him yourself."

Caroline glared darkly. "Don't say things that you know I'll overanalyze for years to come and then not elaborate on said statement."

"I didn't realize there was a protocol for this conversation," Remus teased, smile lighting up his face.

Instead of responding, Caroline punched him in the shoulder. Hard.

"Ouch!" He exclaimed, rubbing where her fist had made impact with his arm. "Do you get off on beating others to a pulp?"

Caroline smirked seductively, quirking up one eyebrow. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

* * *

 _Caroline was standing outside on the school grounds, her face turned up towards the night sky. She found herself staring up at a full moon, entranced by the sphere's powerful glow. Different from other dreams, this felt too real, too grounded. Typically, a dream like this was like stepping into another world, feeling far away and hard to grasp. Tonight, Caroline could feel everything, from the grass under her feet to the light breeze blowing back her hair._

 _Faintly in the distance, Caroline heard a somber howl. Whatever animal made the noise sounded miserable, almost as though it were crying out for help. She felt her heart clench and knew that she had to follow the sound to its source._

 _She stumbled through the grounds, stopping every time the howling faded and then picking up her pace when it started back again. Through all this, Caroline wondered why she was doing this. What about this sound made her want to follow it?_

 _Eventually, Caroline found herself coming to a halt about 20 yards from the Whomping Willow, a dangerous tree that tried to attack anything that approached with its heavy branches. She looked to see a trio of animals standing further ahead by the tree: a black dog, a stag, and a brown rat._

 _The rat went scurrying forward, concealed from the tree by the grass. Once it got to the base of the Whomping Willow, it made a beeline for one particular knot on the tree, leaning up to push down on it in a bizarrely human manner. Sure enough, the knot pressed down and suddenly the branches on the tree froze completely._

 _Next, the stag and dog moved to join the rat, completely unharmed as the tree seemed to be immobilized. Together, the three animals disappeared into a hole near the base of the tree. As Caroline watched the dog's tail disappear into the ground, she knew—for whatever reason—that she had to follow them._

* * *

Caroline awoke with a gasp, eyes moving around to take in her surroundings. She was in her bed in the Slytherin dorm, the sounds of her roommates' snores giving her an odd sense of comfort. She was exactly where she had fallen asleep that night—though with some difficulty, as her stomach had been in knots. The following day would be her first lesson with Desma Rousseau and the thought sent a chill down her spine.

Remembering her dream, Caroline couldn't stop herself from sitting up and looking out the window by her bed. It was only when a large fish swam by that Caroline remembered that Slytherin's dorm was underground in the Black Lake. No moon would be visible from where she was.

Her mind went back to the dream from which she'd awoken. Had it truly been only a dream? After all, it had felt completely different from her visions. Those dreams were much more foreign feeling, clearly indicating that she was witnessing someone else's memory rather than her own.

Yet this time, the experience had felt almost entirely her own. While it would've been nice to believe that it was merely a dream, Caroline had come to realize that life never worked out the way she believed it would. If anything, fate seemed to relish in making her life as difficult as possible.

With that in mind (in addition to the realization that she would never be able to fall back asleep), Caroline quietly got up from her bed and threw on a change of clothes. She crept through the common room and out of the dungeons, taking care not to wake anyone else in her house. A few of the portraits grumbled at being awoken as she passed them, but, other than that, she was able to sneak out of the castle with relatively few disturbances.

As soon as she came to a stop outside—in the same spot she'd been in her dream—Caroline looked up at the night sky. Sure enough, the moon fully illuminated in the night sky. Though logically she knew all full moons looked the same, there was something about this one that made it feel like the exact one from her dream.

And, in much the same fashion as her dream, a desolate howl echoed in the distance. This time Caroline knew exactly where to go and broke out in a run in the direction of the Whomping Willow. If the dream was currently playing out before her eyes, Caroline would come upon the three animals before. Only now, she would be able to follow them.

However, when she arrived in her next stop from the dream, there were no animals to be seen. She waited for a moment, hoping that she had simply arrived earlier. After a few moments, she grew impatient and sighed. Perhaps it really was just a dream.

Caroline was about to turn around and go back to bed when she noticed something—the Whomping Willow wasn't moving. With great care, she began to approach the tree. She kept her eyes locked on the tree's branches, should the tree suddenly spring back to life and take a swing at her. Yet, with each step closer, the willow continued to remain as stiff as marble. When Caroline came to a stop in front of the base of the tree, she looked down and saw the knot from her dream, in the exact place where it should've been. If that was there, then that must mean…

Sure enough, the hole in the ground that the animals had disappeared into was also where she'd dreamt it would be. Taking in a steadying breath and giving one last cursory look to her surroundings, Caroline got on her knees and crawled down into the dark hole, all the while praying she wasn't making a horrible mistake.

Unfortunately for her, the dream cut off right before she had the chance to realize that the hole she'd crawled into was less of a passageway and more of a chute that led to the actual passage. With a scream, she went sliding down through the dirt and leaves until she was dropped out of that hole and onto the cold, hard ground.

Letting out a quiet groan, Caroline pushed herself up and looked around. The passageway she was transported to was extremely dark, giving little indication of where to go next.

"Thank Merlin for magic," she muttered under her breath, adding a quiet, " _Lumos_."

She held up her wand to get a better look at her surroundings and was quickly disappointed. There was nothing particularly exciting or significant about the tunnel—the walls were made of dirt, seeing as it'd been carved out of the ground, with roots sticking out here and there. Fortunately, it was a single tunnel, so she had only one direction to go.

Caroline got up from the ground and dusted herself off to the best of her ability before continuing down the tunnel. As she walked, the sound of howling became clearer and she realized that she had heard not one howl, but two—the louder of the two was steady and low, whereas the other came in sharp bursts, almost mimicking a bark.

She walked through the tunnel for a while, tripping over the occasional root or branch that had somehow made its way down there. The only thing that kept her from giving up was the sound of those howls—they were steadily growing louder and Caroline was sure she'd reach them at any moment. Now, if only she knew what exactly she planned on doing once she encountered these creatures.

Finally, Caroline saw a crudely made ladder and picked up her pace to see where it was leading. As soon as she reached it, Caroline started climbing up with one hand, holding her wand up with the other so that she could see. The ladder led up to what appeared to be a trap door with a rope handle. As she got closer, she could see that there were slivers of moonlight peeking out through the cracks in the wood.

With a quick mutter of _Nox_ , Caroline tucked her wand away and climbed up to the very top of the ladder. Leaning her weight against the ladder, she raised both hands up and pressed them against the trap door, pushing up with all her might. It popped open easily and she quickly climbed through, coming to stand in what appeared to be an abandoned house. The floor that Caroline had come to step out onto was covered in a thick layer of dust, in addition to some rather questionable stains. The walls weren't much better as the paint was peeling off and pieces of the infrastructure were exposed.

The windows were boarded up, but whoever did it had been in too much of a hurry to do a good job, as there were gaps in between the planks of wood. Caroline approached one of the windows and looked out of it, trying to get an idea of where she was. Looking out into the night, she tried to assess the surroundings of the house. She first realized that the house was located on a hill, as she could see the path leading down it.

However, the longer she stared down that pathway in the dark, the more she came to realize that she recognized it. Not only that, she had walked this path before during a Hogsmeade trip her fourth year. I'm in the Shrieking Shack, she realized with a jolt, her stomach dropping through the floor.

Almost as soon as the realization hit her, she heard a deep growl come from behind her. She froze in place, the hairs on the back of her neck standing straight up. A chill ran down her spine and it took all of her willpower to stop her entire body from shaking. With careful precision, Caroline slowly pivoted around to face whatever was behind her and, as soon as she laid eyes on it, she'd wished that she had never left her bed.

Crouched down on all fours, with its yellow eyes locked on her, was a werewolf. Caroline had only ever seen pictures of werewolves in her Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook and found herself wishing that she had paid more attention. She tried to keep completely still, save for the shaky rise and fall of her chest as she gasped in each breath. As her eyes remained locked with the creature's, she wracked her brain for some kind of useful information about werewolves. Was there a way to calm him? To make this creature see that she wasn't a threat and just really wanted to leave?

The only thing she found herself remembering was one detail: when turned, werewolves exclusively target humans with the intention of either infecting or killing them.

Caroline couldn't help the quiet, " _Fuck_ ," that passed her lips upon this realization. However, the sound seemed to set the werewolf off as he let out a snarl and lunged forward to attack her. Jumping back against the wall, Caroline expected to feel the pain of claws or teeth embedding in her skin, yet instead watched as a large black dog leaped out of nowhere and knocked the werewolf down before he could reach her.

It was the same dog from her dream, she quickly recognized. As the werewolf moved to get up again, the dog growled in what appeared to be a warning, shaking out its unruly black fur. Caroline was unsure if one dog could fight off a werewolf, only to watch as another animal appeared—the stag from the dream. The two animals moved in tandem as they stood between her and the werewolf, with the stag leaning his head down to threaten the creature with his antlers.

She watched as the stag used his antlers to heard the werewolf back, who barely put up any fight. Slowly, the large creature was herded from the room while the black dog remained behind. As soon as the beast was gone, Caroline got to her feet, hands still shaking from the whole encounter. Before she had a chance to get her bearings, though, the black dog came running at her.

It latched onto the leg of her pants and pulled, knocking her to the ground. She kicked and screamed, trying her best to fight off this huge dog, but her struggling did no good as it continued to drag her across the dusty floor and drop her down through the hole and into the dark tunnel.

As soon as her body hit the hard ground (for the second time that night) Caroline jumped to her feet and pulled out her wand, fully prepared to fend off the black dog. However, the dog didn't approach her as before.

Instead, Caroline watched as the animal transformed in front of her very eyes from canine to human. And not just any human—the dog had turned into Sirius Black.

" _Sirius?!_ "


	14. Ch 14: A Million Dreams, A Million Scars

**Chapter 14: A Million Dreams, A Million Scars**

* * *

Caroline stood there, jaw dropped to the floor. Her mind replayed the image of dog shifting into a man over and over, yet her brain just couldn't comprehend it. She opened her mouth to no doubt stutter out an incoherent mess, but was swiftly interrupted by Sirius's gruff, "C'mon!" Followed by him latching onto her arm and practically dragging her down the tunnel.

She stumbled blindly after him, allowing him to keep his vice-like grip on her wrist—mostly because she knew there was no way she was finding her own way out of here. All the while, she wanted to voice one of the hundreds of questions flying around in her head. How long had he been an Animagus? Why had he become one illegally instead of waiting to go through the proper channels? Who was the werewolf in the Shrieking Shack? Was the stag also an Animagus?

When they finally came out of the tunnel, they were at a different entrance a bit downhill from the Whomping Willow (not that Caroline was complaining, as the tree had mobilized itself once more). Sirius suddenly let go of her hand, causing Caroline to stumble and adjust her center of gravity.

She turned to glare up at him only to find an equally—if not more so—vicious look on his face. He and his clothes were covered in dirt, his hair hanging over his face like a matted curtain. His chest was rising and falling sharply, eyes ablaze with some emotion she couldn't identify.

"Who told you?" He hissed, spit flying from his lips.

Even when Sirius had seen her as nothing more than a slimy Slytherin, Caroline had never experienced this magnitude of rage from him. The sight of it made her subconsciously put space between them, shuffling backward.

"What are you talking about?" Caroline asked hotly. "I should be the one freaking out here! I have questions that—"

"Don't be coy with me, Caroline," he snapped back, rushing towards her. Grabbing her by the shoulders, he held her tightly so she was forced to face him. "Not about this. Who. _Fucking_. Told. You?!"

His ire was too much and tears began to build in the corners of Caroline's eyes. "Sirius, I don't know what you're talking about!"

"The Shack!" He yelled. "Who told you about the Shack? Was it _Snivellus_?"

Caroline bristled at the suggestion that she would go behind his back and consort with Severus Snape just to spite him. "No one! No one told me about the Shack—although I really don't understand what just happened back there."

"Then how did you get there?" Sirius demanded, narrowed eyes an indicator that he wasn't buying her story thus far.

"Gee, I wonder how a Seer could've found out about someone's secret," Caroline replied sarcastically. Tired of letting his pushy behavior go on, she delivered a swift blow to his gut and broke free of his hold. "That was for doubting me and being a right bastard about it."

Sirius groaned, hunched over and clutching his stomach. "Did you really have to hit me?"

She sniffed, sticking her nose up in the air. "Yes, I was defending my character and reputation. And, for your information, I had a very odd dream about three animals going to the Whomping Willow and traveling through a secret passage—with some rather depressing howls mixed into the background. I woke up and decided to see if it was real."

If Caroline expected her words to calm him, it did quite the opposite. "Are you really that thick?" He cried out, straightening up a bit, though one hand still remained on his stomach. "You have a bloody dream and decide to follow it? You could have been seriously hurt or killed—you could've been infected!"

"Save the lecture for someone who'll actually listen to you," she shot back, crossing her arms over her chest. "It's your turn to answer my questions. Now fill me in on what the hell is going on here."

Sirius let out a long sigh, running a dirty hand through his equally unkempt hair. Gesturing for the two of them to sit down together on the ground, he said, "Remus was attacked by Fenrir Greyback when he was five years old. He snuck into his room in the middle of the night and bit the poor kid just to spite his father, who'd been advocating for Greyback's execution."

Caroline's insides felt as if they'd frozen solid. Her stomach was heavy with the weight of his words, bile reflexively building up in her throat. "Oh, Merlin," she muttered under her breath, wiping away the few stray tears with the back of her hand. "Poor Remus."

"Yeah, poor Remus," Sirius said. "His family didn't think they'd let him come to Hogwarts, but Dumbledore advocated for him and set up this passage to the Shrieking Shack so he'd have a place to go once a month. But, whenever he'd transform, Remus would go mad and hurt himself during the full moon.

"After me, James, and Peter found out about his…furry little problem, we spent our entire second year practicing to become Animagus, so we could be with him. Every full moon, we go with him to the Shack and keep him entertained. As animals, we're pretty safe since werewolves only instinctively go after humans."

Caroline was stunned into silence. It was a lot of information to process in the middle of the night—a boy she'd known for seven years had managed to keep his status as a werewolf a secret and, furthermore, all three of his friends had managed to become Animagi without any notice as well. How many times had she seen Remus sickly and pale and never thought twice about it? How many times had she seen the scars on his face or neck and shrugged it off?

A tight knot of guilt firmly situated itself into her stomach as she realized that she'd forced Remus's hand in revealing his secret—all because of her obsession with some bloody dream.

"I'm a terrible person," she groaned, dropping her head into her hands. "I can't believe I ambushed Remus like that! And exposed his deepest secret—even if it was just to me."

Sirius moved closer, the tension from earlier completely gone, and pulled her into a hug. "To be fair, you didn't knowingly go there to expose Remus's deepest, darkest secret."

Caroline pushed him away, glaring up at him through narrowed eyes. "As if that's any better!" She snapped, crossing her arms. "I'll have to apologize to him. Go and see him in the Hospital Wing or something—he does actually go there the next day, right?"

"Yeah, he does," Sirius said. "But what you really need to do right now is go back to bed. No sense in worrying yourself over something that's already done."

Caroline turned, presumably to follow his instructions, when a thought struck her. "Why did you ask if Severus Snape told me where to go?" She asked, turning back around to face him. "Does he know, too?"

Instead of replying, Sirius studied the grassy earth beneath them with great care. Seconds passed with no answer and Caroline huffed impatiently. She was about to open her mouth to demand an answer when the boy blurted out, "I'm not proud of it, alright?"

Caroline stared at him, completely befuddled by the outburst. "What are you talking about?"

"Snape," he clarified, chancing a glance up at her before looking away again, out towards the direction of the shack. In the distance, a faint howl could be heard. "You have to understand, that git is obsessed with us and spent nearly all of last year following us around to find some reason to get us expelled."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Gee, I wonder why your worst enemy would constantly be trying to find reasons to get you expelled."

" _Anyway_ ," Sirius continued, shooting her an impatient look. "Last year, a couple days before the full moon, I might've…dropped a few hints about where we would be going that night. I didn't want to hurt him!" He hastily added upon seeing Caroline's horrified look. "I just hoped he would hear the noises like the others and run off screaming. But instead, he made it into the Shack just long enough to get a look at Remus before James hauled him away."

"Shit," was Caroline's eloquent response.

"Yeah, shit," he agreed, sighing. "Snape wasn't hurt, but he put it all together pretty quickly. Dumbledore had to talk him down because he was going mental."

Caroline shook her head. "Sirius…" She couldn't even muster up words to describe how disappointed she was in him. Not only to risk the safety of another student but to put Remus—one of his best friends—in that position was truly horrible.

"I know, I know," Sirius replied, sounding just as upset with himself. "It was stupid and impulsive and selfish. If I could take it back, Merlin knows I would, but…I can't. The guys wouldn't talk to me for a whole week."

It was all Caroline could do not to let out a low whistle of disbelief. For boys who were perpetually attached at the hip, a week was the equivalent of a lifetime. She watched as Sirius became silent, eyes once again refusing to meet hers. Clearly, he was terrified of how she would see him now. She'd witnessed his pranks on Slytherin house and Snape, but that act was a whole other level of cruelty.

Placing a hand on his arm, Caroline said, "I'm not going to cast any judgment since it's really none of my business. I'm not much better, seeing as I violated my friend's privacy for no good reason."

"To be fair, putting another student in harm's way isn't exactly on par with not knowing when to keep your nose out of other people's business," Sirius replied, the beginnings of a smile pulling at the corners of his lips. "You'd better get back to your dormitory before Filch—or, Merlin forbid, McGonagall—catches you out this late."

He gently nudged her in the direction of the castle, but Caroline pushed back, resisting his guidance. "No, I have to apologize to Remus for this. It was horrible of me to put him in this position of revealing his deepest secret to someone he didn't want to know."

Sirius sighed, scratching his head. "Well, as you saw earlier, Remus isn't exactly in a talking mood right now, so—"

"I'm serious," Caroline cut in, crossing her arms. Sirius grinned and opened his mouth, but she added before he could, "Now is not the time for an 'Actually, I'm Sirius' joke right now. I really want to apologize—I feel so guilty about this."

The Gryffindor boy's expression sobered considerably, his eyes softening. "I admire your heart, Grayson, but there's not much to be done until the morning." Seeing her shoulders deflate in disappointment, Sirius pulled her into a tight embrace, wrapping his arms around her securely. The two stood like that for some time, with her face pressed against his shoulder, breathing in the scent of him. Caroline could feel the tension fading from both their bodies at the other person's touch.

Pulling back slightly, arms still wrapped around his waist, Caroline looked up into those gray eyes and said, "Nonetheless, tell Remus to expect a visitor in the Hospital Wing tomorrow morning."

As the two finally disentangled themselves, Sirius gave her a small salute and replied, "Will do, as long as you remember to bring him a bit of chocolate—stuff always makes him feel better the morning after. Or on any day, really."

Finally, the two shared a silent goodbye, nodding to one another as they headed in opposite directions.

* * *

The next day, during lunch, Caroline marched over to the infirmary with a chocolate bar firmly in hand. She had been rehearsing exactly what she planned to say to Remus practically all day. Even now, as she steadily made her way down the hallway, her lips were moving to form the words she'd been crafting for so long, making sure every last detail was firmly implanted in her brain.

Coming to a stop in the doorway, Caroline was overcome by a sudden bought of nerves. What if he didn't want to see her? What if he was more injured than usual because the boys had to fight him off due to her presence? Questions all along these fatalistic lines were swirling around her brain when a familiar voice called out, "Miss Grayson!"

Glancing up, Caroline was faced with an apprehensive looking Madam Pomfrey. She put up a brave front and smiled back at the older woman. "Hello, Madam Pomfrey. I'm here to see Remus Lupin?"

"Ah, yes, he's in the bed at the very end on the left," the Healer replied, smiling gently. "I'm so glad to see you as a visitor rather than a patient this time, Miss Grayson."

 _You and me both, sister_ , Caroline thought but did not voice aloud. Instead, she merely smiled back as a reply and shuffled in the direction of Remus's bed. He was kept in the far-left corner of the room, far away from any other patients—though that day the ward was completely empty. One of the fabric dividers was pulled completely over so you would have to reach the foot of the bed before you could see the patient.

"Remus?" Caroline called out tentatively as she came to a stop at the foot of his bed.

"Caroline, good to see you," Remus said in a hoarse voice, smiling weakly. He looked completely exhausted, eyes half open and dark circles underneath them. Fortunately, his skin looked far less pallid than the last time she'd seen him—the ruddy hue to his cheeks told her that Remus was recovering just fine.

However, Caroline couldn't help but note the air of suspicion in the way he looked at her, the way his eyes tracked her every movement—even when her hand nervously tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear.

She moved around to the other side of the bed and took a seat. Her palms had begun to sweat and she shifted nervously, taking in a deep breath to steady herself before she spoke. However, as soon as her mouth opened, instead of the carefully crafted speech she'd prepared, Caroline blurted out, "Remus, I'm _so_ sorry. I don't even have words to express how horrible I feel."

"Caroline—"

"I mean, I violated your privacy in such a horrible way and I feel so guilty for putting you in a position where you were forced to reveal one of your closest kept secrets—any secret, really, but this one is certainly a big one. I want you to know that, despite my profoundly idiotic actions, I would never intentionally do this to anyone—least of all someone I consider a good friend and, above all else, a good person."

By the end of her long-winded spiel, Remus's body seemed to lose a bit of its rigidity and the familiar glow was back in his eyes. He smiled fondly at the word vomit Caroline just emitted, tentatively reaching out to place his hand on hers. Caroline squeezed his hand tightly in return, presenting a small smile of her own.

"Caroline, I forgive you," Remus told her. "I was never mad to begin with, but I know those are the only words to get you to stop talking a mile a minute at me."

The two shared a small laugh and Caroline sagged down in her seat, relieved to be rid of the weight she'd been carrying around for the past 12 hours. "Thank you, Remus," she replied quietly.

"There is one thing I wanted to ask you," Remus continued, albeit hesitantly. Almost instinctually, he removed his hand from hers and turned his head to look out the window, desperately focusing on anything that resided outside of the walls of the Hospital Wing. "Are you…afraid of me now? After all, you saw how I can…become."

The question was so unexpected that Caroline almost laughed, but thankfully caught herself before she did so. She knew that Remus was genuinely concerned—that he was most likely concerned about this every time anyone found out about his…furry little problem, as it were. Reaching out to grasp his hand once more, Caroline stated firmly, "Remus, I have never and will never be afraid of you. If anything, I admire you even more now."

"Admire me?" Remus scoffed, rolling his eyes.

Caroline nodded. "To be able to deal with those painful transformations once a month—don't deny it, Remus, I know they are—and still do all that you do? Not only are you one of the best students in our year, you are also one of the best friends any person would be lucky to have. And I know for a fact that all three of your co-conspirators would support me in saying this."

She watched as the werewolf's cheeks tinted pink under her praise, once again turning to look out the window (now out of embarrassment rather than fear). "And," she continued on, squeezing his hand again so that he might look at her, "I'm so glad that you have friends there to help you through all of it. I hope you know how much they care about you—Sirius damn near tore my head off for last night, as he should've."

Remus winced at the mention of his friend's infamous temper. "Sorry about that," he muttered, though he was having a hard time hiding how pleased he was with the idea of his friends defending him.

"Anyway," she finished, letting go of Remus's hand and leaning back in her chair, "I just wanted to let you know that your secret is safe with me."

There was a brief pause, where once again Remus took on the look of a caged animal, before he finally said, "I know." Yet the look in his eyes and the hesitancy in his tone made it clear that despite her kind words—despite her reassurances—he still didn't truly accept that Caroline was on his side.

Staring back at this poor, conflicted boy, Caroline wondered how she could make him completely secure in her word. How did the boys go about it? Convince this stubborn, pessimistic Gryffindor that they would have his back.

Suddenly, Caroline realized that the only way to gain Remus's trust in her was to provide him with equally vulnerable information about herself. A dark truth for another dark truth.

Taking a deep breath, Caroline stated, "What I'm about to tell you is a secret I've been keeping for weeks. Can you promise to keep my secret the way I've promised to keep yours?"

Remus nodded his head quickly, eyes wide. "Yes, of course."

Caroline let out a sigh she didn't realize she was holding in. "Alright, here it is…" With that, she launched into a condensed version of this term's events—her dreams, the fainting spells, Dumbledore's advice, and the attack she experienced during the Quidditch game. As she unloaded all this information onto Remus, he nodded in all the right places but kept his mouth shut, choosing to remain only as an active listener until Caroline had finished her tale.

"So that's why Sirius asked me to come with you during your rounds the other night," Remus recalled, finally electing to speak.

She nodded. "And why I can't play Quidditch anymore—although, that information hasn't become common knowledge yet."

"Who knows?"

"Dumbledore. Sirius. And now, you."

Remus sighed. "That's a lot to be carrying around these days, Caroline. Are you sure you're alright? Being told Death Eaters might have a hit out on you isn't exactly easy."

Caroline knew that he was right, that she should be scared, yet it was hard to feel fear when nothing about her life felt real anymore. Most of her thoughts were made up of memories that aren't her own. How could she be afraid when most of the horrors she saw in the dark of night weren't even capable of touching her?

"I'm fine, Remus," she replied instead and tried to ignore the way his eyes told her that he didn't believe her.

* * *

Later that evening, Caroline finds herself in an empty classroom with the supposedly renowned Desma Rousseau. As the older woman stood in front of her, Caroline found it hard to believe this was to be her teacher—she'd always expected some eccentric character that you often see in Muggle films. Rather, Madame Rousseau was as ordinary in appearance as she had been in the Hospital Wing the first time they met. She was dressed in professionally tailored, plum-colored robes—the epitome of refinement. Her salt and pepper colored hair was slicked back and up into a bun just as before, yet this time a pair of cat-eye glasses perched on the end of her upturned nose. Her lips were painted crimson and immediately pulled into a wide grin when Caroline entered the room.

"Miz Grayson!" The woman cried in her thick French accent, rushing over as her stiletto heels clicked loudly on the stone floors of the classroom. She was quite short, coming to about Caroline's chin, so the Slytherin girl was forced to lean down when Madame Rousseau moved to exchange the very French greeting of kisses on both cheeks.

"Good to see you again, Madame," Caroline replied, smiling politely.

Madame Rousseau scoffed, waving her small hands widely. "Desma, _s'il vous plait_ ," she interjected. She moved to take a seat at one of the two-person desks in the front of the room, waving Caroline over to do the same.

Once the two were seated side by side, the small woman turned to Caroline and practically ordered, "Tell me what you see, _cherie_."

"See?"

"In zees visions, what have you seen?" Desma clarified gently, showing no frustration in Caroline's apparent inability to function normally in her presence.

Caroline gulped. "Nothing happy—death, war, destruction. Usually, the visions revolve around You-Know-Who and his followers."

"Good. And how do zey feel?" She asked.

The questioned stumped her, as she'd only ever thought about the content of the dreams, not how she felt during them. "Foggy, like I'm watching them from behind a curtain. I can see clearly, but I'm not…physically present in them, if that makes sense."

"And zey always 'appen at night?"

Caroline shook her head. "No, sometimes they've happened while I was awake—but those visions are…different."

"'ow?"

"For one, they're significantly shorter," she stated. "The dreams seem to go on forever, whereas the visions during the day are brief flashes of the future—usually pertaining to one of my senses. I never fully know what's going on and they're gone before I can get any kind of bearings."

Desma hummed thoughtfully, bobbing her head. "And 'ow do you factor into zees visions?" At Caroline's confused look, she elaborated, "Are you an outsidair looking in? Or are zey memories of your future self?"

"Outsider, almost always," Caroline replied, but her mind went to her most recent visions—particularly the dream that led her to discovering Remus's lycanthropy. "But lately, they've been more grounded in my own brain—almost like memories?"

Her words made Desma's widen minutely before she resumed her previous stance of nodding politely. "What?" Caroline demanded. "What does that look mean?"

Desma shook her head. " _Ce n'est rien, cherie_ ," the older witch tried to reassure her. "I believe zat ze progression of your visions means you will be able to control zem much bettair."

Control them? The possibility of exerting any amount control over these visions had never even occurred to Caroline. She'd thought Desma had come to help suppress them or get rid of the dreams altogether. The idea of trying to use them was completely foreign.

Before she could respond, Desma glanced over at a clock on the wall and let out a curse under her breath in French. "I must go, _cherie_ —today's lesson _est très bref_. 'owever, I leave you wiz zis advice: from now on, you must be more careful about your surroundings—zere is no telling what might 'appen if zees abilities were discovaired by You-Know-Who."

With that, Desma stood up and strode out of the room without another glance behind her. If she had looked, she would've seen a rather ghastly pale looking girl, who appeared very much in need of a stiff drink.


	15. Ch 15: Between Stars

**Chapter 15: Between Stars**

* * *

The following weekend held the much-anticipated Quidditch game between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. The two houses possessed a rivalry similar to Gryffindor and Slytherin (albeit on a much smaller scale) and so this match was often anticipated by the members of their house. Like many other students, Caroline and Dorcas were squished into the stands to cheer on their team—or rather, in Caroline's case, a single captain.

In preparation for the game, Adam had given her his Hufflepuff scarf as well as an extra jersey that had his name on the back of it.

"Are you branding me as yours?" She'd asked teasingly at the time, holding up the article of clothing for a better look.

Adam had leaned close, pressing a soft kiss to her temple. Instead of pulling away, he laid his cheek against hers and murmured, "Haven't you figured it out yet? I'm in this for the long haul, Caroline Grayson."

Rather than feel a thrill of delight at his words, Caroline's stomach had sunken with dread. She'd chosen to lean into his embrace as opposed to responding—when words failed, it was better just not to say anything at all.

Now, she sat wearing that same jersey and scarf in a sea of students, stomach taking on that familiar feeling as though it'd been filled with wet cement. Dorcas, who was tucked in next to her, had painted half of her face blue in a spectacular show of support for her house's team—though, if the way her eyes tracked the Ravenclaw captain's form was any indication, it wasn't entirely out of loyalty to the team. She'd also pulled her normally wildly curly locks into two tight braids, with strips of blue and bronze interwoven between.

"Has Adam asked you to be his date to the Yule Ball yet?" Dorcas asked just as the two teams came out onto the pitch.

Caroline played her part, smiling tightly and waving back at Adam when he glanced up her way—an easy figure to spot as the only Hufflepuff supporter in a crowd of Ravenclaws. "Not yet," she replied. "After all, Dumbledore only announced that we were having a ball last night at dinner."

Dorcas rolled her eyes. "I suppose it's a silly question to ask anyway, seeing as the two of you are practically the Golden Couple of Hogwarts at this point."

Any other girl would've taken pride in such a moniker, yet Caroline's heart began to race and her stomach churned as though she'd eaten one too many chocolate frogs. "We've only been together for two months!" Caroline protested. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, alright?"

" _Okay_ ," Dorcas promised, watching the way her friend refused to make eye contact and shifted uneasily in her seat. "I just meant that the two of you seem to have everything figured out. You make it seem so easy."

Caroline sighed and was saved from responding by the shrill scream of Madam Hooch's whistle as the game kicked off. She watched the way Hufflepuff fell into line with Adam's every move—like birds in migration, they adjusted to every minute change in their leader's demeanor. The team, compared to the likes of Gryffindor and Slytherin, was not much overall—but their biggest strength was a capable leader and the other players' unfailing devotion to the example he set.

It would seem intuitive that, if Adam's fellow players can devote such an admiration and near-fanatic attention to him, Caroline should be able to display a similar sense of loyalty. Yet, as the clock continued to tick on their relationship, Caroline found herself feeling as fondly indifferent—in the kindest of ways—as when they first began dating. Adam talked about commitment and being in this for a long time, yet Caroline found herself unable to even picture how they would be together tomorrow—much less months or, Merlin forbid, _years_.

Was she really so cold-hearted as to feel nothing when given such unyielding affection?

Deep down, she knew what the true answer was—had known it all along, really. The reality was that Caroline had felt that kind of commitment and devotion before—felt it still, though she'd fought it hard. Every time she questioned her relationship with Adam and where it was going, Caroline found herself thinking of Sirius Black. Every bloody time, Sirius Black came back.

She'd told herself it was a silly crush, one that could be easily replaced with a new face—the face of a Hufflepuff boy who seemed to only want to be with her and cherish her. However, it was clearly being proven that her heart was not so easily moved. (Though it likely didn't help that she spent much of her time with Sirius, as friends.)

"We should go dress shopping during Hogsmeade weekend," Dorcas said, interrupting Caroline's rather grim line of conclusion.

"What?"

"You, me, and the rest of the girls should go shopping for dresses next weekend in Hogsmeade—for the Yule Ball?" Dorcas explained, becoming more and more concerned by her friend's expression.

Caroline nodded her head. "Sounds fun," she half-heartedly remarked.

Again, Dorcas looked rather put out by her friend's lack of enthusiasm. "I know it's not your idea of a good time, but I really think that—" Her stern chiding was cut off by the sound of a bell ringing, indicating that Ravenclaw had scored another ten points. "Yes!" Dorcas cried out, jumping to her feet along with the other Ravenclaw students. "Go, Murphy, go!"

Kieran Murphy was the Ravenclaw team's captain and one of the best Beaters in the entire school—there were rumors floating around of him being scouted to go pro next year. He looked the part, too, with large, sinewy shoulders and muscled arms that were rumored to be capable of ripping a Quaffle in half. So committed to the game was he that Murphy regularly kept his auburn locks sheared down into a buzz cut, so as to "prevent anythin' from gettin' in the wey o' me game." All this coupled with a thick, Scottish brogue made him quite a popular man around Hogwarts.

Dorcas, now sat back down in her seat, turned to give Caroline what could only be described as a coquettish look, her eyelids hanging low and lips curled up into a wry smile. "I think Murphy's going to take me to the Yule Ball," she whispered into her friend's ear, careful to watch out for any potential competitors listening in.

"What makes you say that?"

"He's been eyeing me in class for weeks!" Dorcas laughed, shaking her head as if Murphy's looks exasperated her, though her toothy smile indicated quite the opposite. "He even came up to me in the common room a few times recently, asking me about this and that. Honestly," Dorcas murmured, dropping her voice low once more. "I'll never understand how that boy made it into Ravenclaw—his head may be beautiful, but it's near empty except for Quidditch."

Caroline tried to cover up her laughter with a coughing fit, smothering her face into the warm scarf around her neck. "Hopefully," she choked out between giggles, "his athletic abilities will translate into him being somewhat of a decent dance partner."

"It's not his dancing that I'm most concerned about," Dorcas lewdly quipped, winking mischievously. The bell rang out once more, signaling another ten points for Ravenclaw and—just as they looked over—Murphy himself flew by them, his eyes locking with Dorcas's. The two shared what could only be described as a conspiratorial look before he flew back into the thick of the game.

"See?" Dorcas said, looking back at Caroline. Around them, many of the Ravenclaw girls tittered, not very subtly deliberating over what that look could've meant—were they dating? Had Kieran Murphy already asked her to the Yule Ball? No doubt the Hogwarts gossip mill would be kept quite busy with this brief, but significant encounter.

The match continued on in much the same manner—Dorcas prattled on about dresses and dancing while Caroline feigned interest. She didn't even have much of a head for paying attention to the game that she normally loved—instead her mind swirled with thoughts of Adam and Sirius, more specifically what to do about each boy. Caroline became so lost in her own thoughts that she did not even notice when the match ended with Hufflepuff catching the Snitch, thus winning the game by a mere margin of 40 points.

Hufflepuff's side of the stands roared and cheered as the team flew down onto the pitch together to celebrate, fists raised triumphantly. On the Ravenclaw side of things, Caroline watched as students began to sadly get up from their seats and slowly file back towards the castle, Dorcas included (though she seemed mildly annoyed by the loss more than anything else).

"Are you coming?" inquired Dorcas, looking down at her still-seated friend curiously.

Caroline smiled and shook her head. "I'm going to go congratulate Adam," she said. "I think it's part of my girlfriend contract and all that. I'll see you back at the Great Hall with everyone else."

Dorcas accepted this answer with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders and turned to leave with the rest of her housemates (and possibly rendez-vous with a certain Scot).

Caroline, now alone, left the stands and went down to the pitch where the entirety of Hufflepuff house was gathered in a large crowd around the Quidditch team. Wind biting at her cheeks, she tucked herself further into her scarf and tried to blend in as she approached the group. She pushed herself up on her toes, trying to look for Adam from her rather poor vantage point at the back of the group.

The job was done for her when two players hoisted Adam upon their shoulders, who was cheering delightedly. Caroline couldn't help but smile at his beaming expression— _he really is lovely_ , she thought to herself as the sun shone through his sandy locks and his warm eyes glowed with that familiar vivacious fire.

"Adam!" She called out, trying to get his attention. Her voice was drowned out by the voices of all the other students around her, who were also calling his name. "Adam!" She tried once more but again was left washed away by the people around her.

The team members then began a march back to the castle, Adam still firmly placed on their shoulders. He seemed content up there, though, laughing and cheering with as much enthusiasm (if not more so) as anyone else. Caroline wanted to follow him, try and catch up so that she might share in this reverie, but there was this sense of separation between the two of them. As much as it stung to admit, Caroline didn't belong in this celebration.

So, rather than follow them, Caroline began her own sluggish ascent back to the castle with a traitorous voice in the back of her mind muttering, _"He didn't even try and include you…"_

* * *

When Caroline finally made it into the Great Hall, she felt a bit ridiculous and immaturely hurt. Here she was, wearing the colors of another house and a shirt with the name of someone else, with nothing to show for her efforts. She'd been metaphorically cast out of any celebration she might've been part of—though, to be fair, she hadn't exactly tried to join in—and now she was about to face her friends in such a humiliating state with only a bruised ego to show for it.

She unraveled the Hufflepuff scarf from her neck as she drew closer to the Gryffindor table. Looking over at her friends, she realized that they were all crowded together, leaning over a copy of that day's _Daily Prophet_. The sight helped to lift her dampened mood as they were all ridiculously close to the piece of parchment, so close they may have been able to smell it.

"What are you lot up to?" She called out teasingly, delighting in the way they all jumped up in the air and spun around wildly.

Before Caroline had a chance to get a glimpse at the paper, Lily snatched it up and held it behind her back—much in the same way a child would try to conceal any evidence of wrong-doing. This would've amused Caroline, too, except for the fact that no one else seemed to break from their startled stance. Each and every one of them—even Sirius, who (despite his rather ironic moniker) was incapable of sobriety even in the gravest of times—stood up stiff as a board and refused to make eye contact with Caroline.

"Now, you're freaking me out," Caroline continued, eyeing them all warily. "What's going on?"

Again, her questioning was met with complete silence. She scanned over each of them, looking for any break that might give her a clue about what the bloody hell was going on. To give the group some credit, nearly every single one of them was perfectly still and stoic, maintaining a perfect air of indifference—all but one: Peter Pettigrew.

Caroline had very few interactions with Peter, mostly due to the fact that he was often overshadowed by his friends. Furthermore, she often felt a tad uneasy around him—a feeling she couldn't justify except for his rather weasel-like behavior. This afternoon, however, she was glad for his spineless behavior, as Peter's beady eyes flicked between her and the paper behind Lily's back rapidly.

 _The newspaper, huh?_

"Give me the paper, Lily," Caroline ordered. "I don't know what you're hiding, but hand it over."

"No!" Lily replied, taking a small step back. "It's—it's mine!"

Caroline fought the urge to roll her eyes. As if this fiery redhead was capable of refusing her friends anything—she was generous and kind-hearted almost to a fault. "Look, it's not as if I can't get my own copy of the paper—or borrow someone else's. However, it would save us all a lot of time and effort if you just gave me yours right now," Caroline tried to reason.

Lily set her jaw and raised her head defiantly. "No," she repeated, tightening her grasp on the newspaper.

"Caroline," Marlene cut in, giving the other girl a sympathetic look. "Maybe you should sit down and—"

"No," Caroline cut in, shaking her head. "Something is going on and I want to know what it is, right now."

Dorcas tried her hand at talking her best friend down. "Look, it's better if we just—"

" _Accio_ Daily Prophet!" Caroline shouted and held her hand out as the newspaper jerked from Lily's grasp and into hers. Amid a series of loud protests from her friends, she straightened out the newspaper's front page.

In blackened, bold print, the headline read "DEMETRIUS GRAYSON ARRESTED" with a large photograph below it of her father being dragged into the Ministry by a group of Aurors—two of whom she recognized as the interrogators from her dream. Her father's appearance was haggard, dark circles lurking under his normally vibrant gaze. She could see the fear lurking in his eyes as one of the Aurors roughly shoved him forward, causing her to wince sympathetically. Frantically, Caroline flattened out the newspaper again, scanning over the article below. It said that Demetrius Grayson had been taken in as a suspected Death Eater, possibly to be indicted as an accomplice to one of the recent murders that had occurred as well as for allocating funds to You-Know-Who's cause.

It was only when her vision began to blur and droplets fell onto the image of her father's terrified face that Caroline realized she was crying.

Glancing up from the paper, her friends' expressions were all varying levels of pity and despair. One pair of eyes in particular—the color of stormy skies over a restless sea—pulled Caroline. Her limbs physically ached with the need to move forward and push herself into his arms, let the feeling of his broad chest against her ear guide Caroline home. Yet, at the same time, that longing made her want to run in the opposite direction.

So, that's exactly what she did, spinning on her heel and tearing out of the Great Hall before anyone had the chance to utter a single word.

* * *

Caroline didn't know where she wanted to go when she ended up in front of the Room of Requirement. She had no specific place in mind as she walked a steady pace back and forth in front of the stone wall. Over and over, her mind just begged, _Take me far away from it all—far away from the dreams and painful memories._

She came to a stop, watching as the familiar iron spindles slowly emerged from stone. Once the door was fully actualized, Caroline firmly grasped its cool handle and pushed it open with all her might, stumbling forward into a lowly lit room.

If escape had been her desire, Caroline had no earthly explanation for why the Room of Requirement had turned into her childhood bedroom.

Everything was exactly as she remembered. The walls of the surprisingly vast, square room were still covered in ghastly pink wallpaper, with small roses etched along the top and bottom. The cherry wood floors were mostly covered by a round, shag rug that had once been pure white, but—over the years that Caroline occupied this bedroom—had muddied into a slightly off-white hue, with a few darker, more suspicious stains intermixed. One particular stain near the center of the rug, pale pink and barely noticeable to an unfamiliar eye, had been from Caroline's brief stint as a self-proclaimed prodigy painter.

Her childhood bed rested against the far-right wall, neatly made and covered in Caroline's favorite set of dark plum, flannel sheets. Overhead was the canopy that her mother had placed, with thin, embroidered curtains coming to fall on either side of the top half of the bed. Against the wall adjacent to the bed were two large windows that depicted a view over the ground of her father's estate—even in this false reality, Caroline could see a familiar tree line that marked the edge of the property.

Moving further into the room, Caroline's eyes passed over the dollhouse her father had given her as a Christmas present years and years ago. Each of the figurines living in this small recreation of the actual estate was neatly tucked into their beds, just as Caroline had left them the last time she was in this room.

She let out a stuttering huff of air, trying to reign in her emotions. Rather than soothe her pain, all the memories of her past were only pushing her even deeper into despair. Her knees started to wobble and Caroline moved quickly over to the bed to stop herself from collapsing on the floor. She dropped down onto the soft mattress, letting her head hang down into her hands as sobs overtook her.

Shoulders shaking and snot leaking from her nose, Caroline let out all of her fear and pain. Though there was a deeper ache of loneliness in her chest, there was a certain reprieve that came with knowing no one could see her. She was completely alone in her grief and no one else's expectations of how she expressed this grief would be placed upon her—at least, not while in this safe haven.

After a few minutes of crying and gasping for breath, Caroline's hysterics began to slow—either due to lack of stamina or lack of tears, she could not ascertain. Lifting up her head from its position in her hands, Caroline wiped the snot and tears off onto the bedspread, eyes flicking over to the nightstand.

Displayed quite prominently were two moving photographs of Caroline and her father. In the first, smaller photo, Caroline was about seven years old and holding her father's cheeks in her chubby hands, forcing his face into a smile—though it was easy to see he was amused on his own. The focal point of the picture was the fact that Demetrius's normally dark locks were a startling shade of pink, not dissimilar from the color of the wallpaper in Caroline's bedroom. With a smile, she recalled that this had been the result of a bout of accidental magic, wherein her father had born the unfortunate brunt of this spell.

Somewhat less fondly, Caroline also remembered this stint of accidental magic had been set off because her parents had been screaming at each other for what seemed like hours and it upset young Caroline immensely.

The second photograph was a bit larger, as it displayed a lovely view of the estate's grounds. In it, Caroline—much younger, probably around age three or four—was flying through the air on her first toy broomstick. Her hair, which was pulled up into pigtails, was whipping back in the wind as she squealed with delight. A few feet below her, Demetrius was seen running frantically after her, eyes wide with fright as his hands struggled to grasp the broom for himself.

Caroline's mother told her—years later, post-divorce and pre-marriage to Henry—that this time was some of the happiest years of their marriage. It made Caroline sorry that she had so few memories of her parents as a happy couple. Much of her childhood—and adolescence, on the rare occasion her parents could be bothered to interact with one another—was plagued by recollections of yelling and cutting insults, followed by the slamming of doors or the roar of their fireplace, indicating one of her parents had Floo'd to get away from the other person.

Caroline, with no real recollection as to why, reached out and picked up the photograph off the table, bringing it in for closer inspection. Her forefinger traced over the image of her father's panicked face, a wave of nostalgia falling over her. What would her life have been like, if her parents had been happy? Better, more whole? Her mind went to Ellie and then she let out a long sigh, knowing the truth.

The truth was that her parents would never have been happy together, no matter how hard either of them tried. Her mother was a free spirit who never felt like she belonged in her own world. Her father was a stiff traditionalist and terrified of breaking any social norms. No, they would never have been happy, as much as it pained Caroline to admit. Besides, if they'd never split up, Caroline wouldn't have a little sister to dote upon and a step-father to gripe about her mother to.

"Caroline?" A voice called from far away, ripping Caroline out of her mind's meandering path.

She glanced over at the door and watched as it opened to reveal Sirius and his mop of wild curls, peaking in on her tentatively. "Can I come in?" He asked, though he did not wait for a reply before stepping into the room fully and closing the door behind him.

Quickly, Caroline turned away and reached up to wipe away the last remnants of her tears. Sniffling, she muttered half-heartedly, "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, of course," Sirius replied, taking his time to sample everything in the room before he sat down beside her. "Everyone's worried sick about you. Been searching the castle for hours."

 _Hours?_ She thought curiously. _In this room, it felt like only minutes had passed._

"Well, you found me," she remarked somewhat bitterly, finally looking him in the eye.

Sirius moved close enough that their thighs were pressed together, his warmth radiating through the loose fabric of their clothes. "I won't ask you if you're fine, I know you're not," he said. "I just thought you shouldn't be alone right now."

Without thinking, Caroline leaned into his side, turning to look out the window that mimicked the view of her childhood home's expansive grounds. So lifelike was this window that Caroline could see a rabbit hopping along the lawn and bees buzzing around a line of rose bushes.

"He's innocent," she stated suddenly, surprising even herself. Sirius glanced down at her curiously, watching the way her icy blue gaze never flinched away from the window. "I know he's innocent."

"Caroline…"

"I'm aware of how that makes me sound," she snapped, flicking her eyes up in annoyance. "I know it makes me sound like some emotionally wrought child, in denial of her own parent's faults, but it's true. He may be complicit in some of You-Know-Who's activities, but he isn't capable of really joining the cause."

Her words lingered in the air for a moment, neither of them knowing what to say after that. Caroline couldn't help but feel as though Sirius _should_ believe her, as her friend—one of her closest friends, considering how much he knew about her. Yet she also knew his violent hatred for pureblood ideologies and anyone who might have the slightest inkling of sympathy for them. Hell, he'd rejected his own brother, despite the fact he was clearly a young boy under the thumb of his parents' belief systems.

"Did you… _see_ it?" Sirius asked tentatively.

Caroline sighed, her entire body sagging under the weight of all her sorrows, and leaned even further into Sirius's side so that her head was resting against his shoulder. Without a moment of hesitation, he pulled her further against him so that his arms essentially caged her in and Caroline was curled against his chest. The position—despite how comfortable they were with one another, physically—was very intimate and a small voice in the back of Caroline's mind wondered how Adam would feel about this.

"I had a vision of my father being 'interrogated'"—her venomous tone and stiff spine indicated how legitimate she found the Aurors' practices—"by a couple of Aurors. He was being horribly mistreated and scared and…I just, I could see in his eyes that he was innocent. If he knew anything at all, he would've given up." The more she talked about that horrible dream, the more heated Caroline began to get, her hands gesticulating frantically that mirrored her own fiery expression.

Suddenly, she sat up and pulled away from Sirius's hold so that she could look him in the eye. The way she held his gaze made a chill run down his spine, her eyes so determined and face grimmer than a widow at a funeral. "They were using Unforgiveables on him, Sirius," she choked out, tears starting to bloom in her eyes. "They _tortured_ him, for no reason at all. I think—I think they might kill him!"

Tears began rolling down her cheeks and a sob ripped out of Caroline's throat as Sirius pulled her against him. Her face pressed against his chest, muffling her cries, and one of her hands fisted in the material of his shirt. She didn't know what to do, what to say, and that feeling of absolute uncertainty made her cry even harder.

Sirius, on the other hand, held her tightly and rode out the storm with her. Faintly Caroline could hear the sound of his husky voice murmuring gentle encouragements into her ear. She didn't completely understand what he was saying, too caught up in her own whirlwind of emotions, but his soft tone made her burrow even further into his arms. Yet, even amongst all this pain and despair, Caroline felt grateful that Sirius had been the one to find her, for only he could understand the way she felt right now.

Once again, as Caroline began to run out of energy and tears, her sobs tapered off into short hiccups before disappearing altogether and she was left lying in the embrace of Sirius Black, amidst her infuriatingly pastel childhood bedroom.

"I had it the night we made up from our fight," she blurted out, voice hoarse and low.

Sirius brushed a hand over her hair. "What?"

"The night we made up from our fight and you comforted me? That was the night I dreamt of my father being interrogated," she said, although it was impossible for her to say why.

Sirius took her by the shoulders and gently pried them apart, looking into her eyes. Caroline watched as he seemed to struggle with something, brows knitted together and eyes stormier than ever. She was about to make excuses, to tell him she meant nothing by this comment, when Sirius abruptly grabbed her face with his hands and leaned down, pressing his lips to hers.

At first, all Caroline could do was sit there in shock. Her brain was struggling to catch up with this turn of events. However, as Sirius's soft lips moved gently against hers, instinct kicked in and Caroline's eyes drifted closed as she reached up to wrap her arms around his neck, pressing her lips firmly against his.

In that moment, time seemed to stop and the world altogether ceased to exist.

Then, as they separated, reality caught up with Caroline.

 _Oh, Merlin_ , she thought, pressing a hand against her swollen lips. _What the bloody hell have I done?_ Caroline glanced over at Sirius, who looked just as shocked by recent events despite having been the one to initiate the kiss. He refused to look at her, gray eyes instead going towards the floor.

Another thought hit Caroline: _What if he kissed me out of pity? Did he regret it?_ If his stony behavior was anything to go by, then the answer was probably yes.

"Um…" Caroline began, unsure of how to start this conversation. Glancing down at herself, she became very aware of the fact that this kiss—regardless of what it meant or where things would go from here—was a direct betrayal of Adam. A betrayal that occurred while she was wearing Adam's name on her back, his Hufflepuff scarf around her neck.

"I've been feeling this way for a long time," Sirius said, eyes still glued to the floor. Caroline whipped around to stare at him, eyes wide, and his cheeks flushed a rosy pink in response. "I tried to be respectful of you and Milton, but seeing you so upset and crying….I couldn't help but try to be close to you."

Caroline's head spun as her entire way of thinking of the world turned upside down. Everything she'd ever believed to be true—that she would forever long for Sirius, a permanent unrequited love—was wrong. At least, now it was.

"I…I don't understand?" She managed to get out, placing a hand against her forehead. "I thought you only saw me as a friend."

"I did, for a while," Sirius agreed. "But, after Marlene and I were over, I realized that I had feelings for you—for I don't even know how long." Finally, he raised his head to make eye contact with her and the intensity of this look was enough to make Caroline's legs turn to jelly—thank Merlin she was already sitting down.

She let out a shaky breath, butterflies fluttering in her stomach. This was everything she'd ever wanted, but now she felt at a loss for words. She'd never imagined this scenario in her mind, mostly because it seemed too impossible to ever come to fruition.

"Is there any chance for us?" Sirius asked her, reaching out tentatively to take her hands in his. "Milton's a nice bloke and all, but I…I really care about you, Caroline."

Caroline couldn't help but let out a small laugh, shaking her head lightly. When Sirius started to pull away, visibly hurt, she quickly tightened her grip on his hands and said, "I'm not laughing at you, it's just…Sirius, how could you ever doubt that I have feelings for you? The entirety of Hogwarts knows I've had a thing for you since we were in our second year."

Sirius laughed this time, more out of delight than anything else, and leaned forward to press a light kiss to her lips. When he lingered, clearly intent on taking this further, Caroline placed a hand on his chest and pushed him away slightly.

"I'm sorry if I—"

"It's not you," Caroline quickly explained. "I want to be with you, but I can't let this go any further until I break up with Adam. It's bad enough I kissed you while wearing his Quidditch jersey."

Sirius glanced down and let out a deep laugh. "To be honest, love, I didn't even notice." Grinning cheekily, he added, "Don't worry, I can handle being just friends for a little bit longer. But don't make me wait too long—who knows what sorts of attention-seeking activities I'll resort to."

* * *

The next morning Caroline felt as though she were floating around on Cloud Nine. Despite the emotionally draining day before, her newfound relationship with Sirius—what exactly was she supposed to call it?—was enough to pull her up out of the pit of despair she'd fallen into yesterday. Make no mistake, her father's arrest weighed heavily on her mind, but she felt determined to intervene somehow. She planned on going to see the Headmaster later that day, but right now she had a more important task: breaking up with her current boyfriend to move on to her new one.

As it was still fairly early in the morning, most Hogwarts students were still to be found in the Great Hall stuffing their faces with porridge and sausage. Caroline entered the large room, eyes drifting over to the Hufflepuff table where she saw Adam smiling and laughing with his friends. The sight made her stomach drop, as she knew this conversation was going to hurt him quite a bit.

Taking a deep breath, Caroline refused to allow her thoughts to spiral to a worst-case scenario and instead forced herself to march over to where Adam was, lightly tapping him on the shoulder.

Adam turned and looked up at her, his smile going from one of joy to one of sympathy. _Well_ , she thought a bit derisively _, I guess that answers the question of whether or not he saw yesterday's Daily Prophet._

"Hey," Adam said gently, getting up from the table to reach out and pull her into a tight embrace. As he pressed her face against his shoulder, Caroline looked out over the Great Hall and made eye contact with Sirius at the Gryffindor table. Judging by his flared nostrils and pinched corners of his mouth, this sight was not too pleasing for the young Marauder.

Caroline immediately pulled herself from Adam's arms and shuffled back from his reach. "Can we talk for a minute? Outside?"

At Adam's curt nod, she turned and led him out of the Great Hall, taking care not to look over at the gray pair of eyes she could feel following their every move. She walked until they were well away from the rest of the student population and stopped in the corridor, turning to face Adam once more. Seeing his patient and earnest expression, Caroline felt that weight in her stomach grow even heavier and fidgeted uncomfortably.

"I don't really know how to start this," Caroline admitted sheepishly, lightly blushing.

"Look, Caroline, if it's about your dad, I promise that—"

"It's not about my dad," she cut in quickly, stopping that conversation before it could start. Too much talk of her father and Caroline would start crying all over again. "It's about…us."

"Oh," Adam murmured softly, sounding rather small for a boy of his stature. Nevertheless, he didn't tear his gaze away from her and looked as patient as before, which did nothing to help Caroline's nerves.

"Adam," she began. "I really care about you—but only as a friend. And, try as hard as I might, I can't just settle for platonic fondness in a relationship. You shouldn't have to settle, either, for a girl that is capable of caring for you as much as you do her."

Adam blinked slowly, eyes a bit glossy and dazed. "I…what brought this on? I thought you were happy—that we were both happy being together."

Caroline had hoped he wouldn't ask any question along those lines, as it required admitting the real source of her guilt. "You know that I've always had feelings for…Sirius. And last night, one thing led to another, and he told me he had feelings for me too and kissed me and—"

"Wait, wait, wait," Adam snapped, his expression going from bemusement to indignation in the span of about two seconds. "You're breaking up with me _for Sirius Black_?"

"It's not necessarily _for_ him," Caroline tried to explain. "I haven't been happy for a while, but my conversation with Sirius just…expedited things a bit."

She watched as Adam began to pace back and forth in front of her, his hand coming up to grip his jaw as he fell deep into thought. The longer he walked, the angrier he seemed to get, huffing and puffing by the end of it.

"Let me clarify," he managed to bite out, "I'm not mad because you're dumping me—I'm mad that you are putting yourself in a situation where you are guaranteed to get hurt."

Caroline felt as though she'd been struck. Of all the things to say, of all the ways to make her hurt, he'd picked the worst one: playing on her insecurities with Sirius. Once she recovered from the hurt, it was quickly replaced with her own fury.

"Listen, Adam," she replied acerbically. "I appreciate your concern, I really do, but you have no business making claims about a relationship you know nothing about."

"Know nothing about? I've only been the shoulder you cried on for the past two months!"

"Yes, and during those two months, I also spent a great deal of time with Sirius. Nearly every day, in fact," Caroline shouted back. "Although I'm guessing you didn't know about that either, seeing as how you have the observational skills of _blast ended skrewt_!"

Her words seemed to have no effect on Adam, as he brushed her off and continued at an even louder yell, "He's going to drop you just as quickly as he dropped McKinnon and then where will you be? Just use that lovely head of yours and think for a second, Caroline! He is only going to cause you pain and heartbreak, nothing else."

"Even if that _is_ true," Caroline hissed, "it's my decision to make, not yours!"

By this point, both of them are yelling at the top of their lungs in the middle of a high-traffic corridor. Their faces were flushed red, hands clenched into tight fists by their sides. They're both so focused on this argument that they didn't even notice when Caroline's friends came out into the corridor to investigate the shouting.

"What's going on here?" Sirius interrupted gruffly, bristling at the way Adam glared at Caroline. As soon as he spoke, though, that irate gaze turned on him and he could almost see the smoke about to come out of the Hufflepuff's ears. Rather than back down, Sirius moved closer and subconsciously began to put himself between Adam and Caroline.

Though one might've considered this protective stance sweet, Caroline felt more annoyed by it than anything else. "Look, Sirius, everything's fine. Just go."

"I'm not going anywhere," Sirius replied.

Before the argument could go any further, Adam—without so much as a word to either person—turned to face Sirius completely and then punched him square in the face, knocking the Gryffindor to the ground. Almost immediately, a physical fight broke out between the two boys, fists flying and insults hurled back and forth. It was a blur of limbs as Caroline watched from the sidelines, completely frozen.

The noise of the brawl began to garner an audience, as more and more students came out of the Great Hall to find two of their most prominent students attempting to break every bone in the other boy's body. The two were well-matched, making the fight all the more interesting. Sirius would land a blow to Adam's face, only for him to receive a hit in kind.

The sounds of students cheering them on nearby and calling out encouragements to their preferred fighter were enough to snap Caroline out of her statuesque state and she moved closer to the brawling boys. Letting out a put-upon sigh, she attempted to shove herself between the two boys and break it up, as both were now bleeding from the nose and sporting busted lips. However, when she tried to physically use her body as a wall between them, Adam shoved her out of the way, causing her to fall to the stone floor square on her arse.

"Ow!" She hissed, rubbing her now bruised behind _. That's what you get for trying to help stupid boys_ , she thought to herself, glaring up at them.

Sirius, having snapped out of his fighting haze to watch her fall down, turned to Adam with a renewed sense of rage. "Don't shove my girlfriend, you wanker!" He shouted, launching himself at Adam.

" _Your girlfriend?!_ " Adam roared back, taking a swing at Sirius's stomach.

All at once, both boys suddenly became frozen mid-punch, their bodies becoming completely still, save for their faces. Professor McGonagall came pushing through the crowd of students, wand raised and eyes narrowed.

"Mr. Milton, Mr. Black, would either of you care to explain what possessed you to act like a couple of bumbling baboons, fighting in the middle of a perfectly nice corridor? And this early in the morning," she chided, shaking her head.

"Well, Minnie," Sirius drawled, looking rather nonchalant for someone who had no control of their body, "can I just say you have such a way with words? Truly, you must have been a poet in another life."

McGonagall fixed him with a derisive look. "Don't test me, Black, I have no qualms about deducting points from a member of Gryffindor." She glanced over at Adam, who had gone quiet and seemed to be reflecting on the past five minutes with a visible amount of regret for his actions. "As soon as I release the two of you, you are going straight to Madam Pomfrey to fix what appears to be a couple of broken noses and a possible black eye."

Caroline, who had been watching all of this from just behind McGonagall, startled when the Transfiguration professor turned to her next. In a slightly less harsh tone, McGonagall said, "Miss Grayson, I believe I can look after things from here." Turning to face the crowd of students behind her, the professor added loudly, "I suggest you all go about your days as usual before I start deducting more points for loitering."

In the blink of an eye, most of the student population was gone—though buzzing with a myriad of new gossip—and only Caroline's friends were left behind, looking about as shell-shocked as can be. Caroline came over to stand with them and watched together as both boys were allowed free range of their bodies again and ordered to follow Professor McGonagall to the Hospital Wing.

As they passed by, Adam looked Caroline in the eyes and said, "Remember what I said."

Sirius, who had been walking behind him, gave the other boy a hard shove to the back and snapped, "Say one more word to her and I'll give you a black eye to match mine."

With that, the two boys were led away and Caroline was left in the wake of it all, stunned and confused. Furthermore, she was now faced with a group of her friends, all of whom visibly sought answers to a slew of questions, and had no one there to support her.

 _Sirius Black, you are going to need Madam Pomfrey's help for the second time today once I get ahold of you._


	16. Ch 16: Write Some Love to You

**Chapter 16: Write Some Love to You**

* * *

"I just don't understand how you couldn't tell me about this!"

Caroline was experiencing yet another onslaught of scolding from Dorcas. Her best friend was furious at finding out about Caroline's fledgling relationship with Sirius through means of a fist fight between Adam and Sirius. While she agreed that Dorcas was justified in feeling left out, three days of this treatment and Caroline's patience was about to run out.

Currently, they were sitting in the library and doing their homework in a moot attempt to escape the curious eyes that now followed Caroline everywhere.

"I didn't intentionally leave you out of the loop, Dorcas," Caroline muttered half-heartedly, quill moving rapidly as she finished her essay for Potions.

Dorcas's eye roll was almost audible. "Right and you just happened to forget to mention your late-night meetings with him for the _entirety_ of term? Please!" She scoffed, throwing herself back into her chair. "You had multiple chances to tell me and you didn't! I'm your best friend, Caroline—or, at least, I _thought_ I was!"

Caroline slammed her hands down on the table, making everyone in the quiet space startle. "You are my best friend, Dorcas!" She insisted. "I didn't tell you about us hanging out because—I didn't know what it was or how to explain it. And I knew that if I told you, I'd have so much explaining to do and I just—I didn't want to have to get into all of it, okay?"

"Okay!" Dorcas replied, holding her hands up. "But what more is there to it? The two of you hung out, snogged a bit, and now you're a couple."

 _If only it were that easy_ , Caroline thought with a sigh. This whole debacle with Sirius had reignited a deep guilt within her about keeping her visions a secret from Dorcas—and everyone else in her life. Sharing that knowledge with Sirius had facilitated a deep bond and, to an unknowing outsider, it was difficult to explain.

"Even though I'm still mad," Dorcas continued, much more subdued, "I still want you to come shopping with us this weekend. We're looking for dresses in Hogsmeade and I can't trust you to pick something even remotely suitable." She ended the tirade with a small smile that let Caroline know their relationship was going to recover from this—not right away, but eventually.

Caroline smiled back, returning to her assignment. "I would never miss the chance for you to tell me what to buy." She paused her writing and glanced back up at Dorcas. "Who exactly is 'we'?"

"The obvious—me, you, Lily, Mary, and Marlene."

The last name caused another stab of guilt in Caroline's stomach. She'd been reflecting on Marlene a lot in the past couple of days. Though they'd discussed her relationship with Sirius before, Caroline had always assured Marlene that they were nothing more than friends. She'd genuinely meant it at the time, of course, but how must all this look to Marlene? Some sort of subterfuge to sneak Sirius away from her? The thought made Caroline want to be sick.

"How is Sirius?" Dorcas asked suddenly. "I've been so busy chastising you that I'd forgotten to ask until now."

Caroline shifted uncomfortably in her seat, very aware of the way that the table of Hufflepuff girls next to them suddenly became silent. "He's fine, I guess. Serving detention for a week with McGonagall."

"Does that mean he can't go to Hogsmeade this weekend?"

"No," Caroline said, lowering her voice in hopes of discouraging the ears listening in. Judging by the girls' suddenly forlorn expressions, it worked. "He can still go. I guess he managed to talk McGonagall into going easy on him."

"And…" Dorcas trailed off, biting her lip. She was clearly debating whether or not to ask her next question.

"Out with it, Dorcas. You've never held back anything in your entire life."

"What about…Adam?" She asked, smiling sheepishly. "Have you talked to him?"

There it was again; that familiar pang of guilt right between her ribs. "No," Caroline hollowly remarked, picking at a loose thread on her sleeve. "He's refusing to talk to me, as is the whole of Hufflepuff house—besides Mary, obviously."

"He's their King," Dorcas replied sardonically. "Loyal to a fault, fortunately or not."

Caroline sighed, crossing her arms. "I don't mind the radio silence, but what he said to me…"

"Said to you? When?"

"Just before the…fight," she muttered gruffly, her cheeks flaming just thinking about that hyper-masculine display. "I was telling him that it was over and that I wanted to be with Sirius and he…he basically told me that we were doomed from the start. It was bordering on cruel."

Caroline waited for some quick-witted dismissal from Dorcas, but it never came. Glancing up from the table, she watched as her friend suddenly became focused on the work before her. She stayed completely silent as she worked, as though Caroline hadn't said a word.

"Dorcas?"

Nothing.

Again, "Dorcas?"

Silence.

"Okay," Caroline huffed, snatching her friend's quill right out of her moving hand. "Whatever you have to say, just say it. I can take it."

Dorcas huffed out a sigh as she delicately laid down her quill before crossing her hands together and placing them in front of her on the table. Her positioning indicated to Caroline, who'd known this girl for the entirety of their school careers, that some brutal words were about to be spoken. "I only wonder," began Dorcas, "how much thought you've really put into this relationship. You've wanted Sirius for so long from afar, but that's not the same thing as knowing someone. I just worry you've put him up on a bit of a pedestal and are setting yourself up for some kind of disappointment."

Caroline let out a long sigh of her own, a bit bowled over. Dorcas had essentially verbalized her greatest fear at this point—that she'd lay it all out on the line for Sirius only to discover they weren't right for each other at all. "It's the way he makes me feel," Caroline blurted out, surprising herself and Dorcas at the conviction behind her words. "When we're together—either alone or in a crowded place—I feel so grounded. I know that if I fall, he'll be there to catch me. Just like he did when the…news about my dad came out."

Dorcas reached across to place her hand over Caroline's. "How are holding up, by the way? This whole Sirius Black revelation has completely derailed the focus on what's important—you and your family."

"I'm doing better," Caroline tried to assure her, though the words sounded offbeat and weak even to her own ears. Clearing her throat, she added, "I wrote mum about it and she's already looking into some sort of legal consultation to try and get his arraignment moved up. She thinks their evidence is too circumstantial to stand, but I guess time will tell…"

The whole mess with Demetrius Grayson's arrest had been momentarily forgotten after the fight between Sirius and Adam but had come back in full force once Caroline was alone that night. She'd laid awake in her bed most of the night, terrified that if she fell asleep some horrible vision of her father's future may await her. In the end, she'd gotten out of bed and written a lengthy message to her mother before eventually falling asleep in the wee hours of the morning.

"If anyone can figure this out, it's your mum," Dorcas promised, giving Caroline's arm one final squeeze before returning to her own work. "Now, time to actually do Charms work for once in my damn life…"

* * *

The following day, during lunch, Caroline found herself leaning against Sirius's side with his arm around her shoulder as she read over some material for Divination. On her other side was Remus, who'd been the only person at Gryffindor table not actively disgusted at the idea of sitting next to the two "lovebirds" as they'd been dubbed by the rest of the group. At this point—four days after the big reveal of Sirius and Caroline's relationship—most of them had accepted it as the new norm. Some claimed to have never been surprised in the first place (Remus and Lily) while others still seemed visibly shocked at seeing them together (Peter).

"You know that's all rubbish, right?" Sirius muttered into Caroline's ear, interrupting her very important and not at all tedious reading about tea leaves.

"I'll have you know that the ability—nay, _art_ —of reading tea leaves has"—Caroline ran her finger down the page to find an exact quote—"'provided thought-provoking insight into worlds beyond our own for nearly a millennium.'"

Sirius chuckled. "Well, pardon me," he said, holding up his free hand as a sign of apology. "Read on. Educate yourself on some thought-provoking insight while James and I discuss the _divine_ insight needed for Slytherin to even have a chance at the Quidditch Cup this year."

Caroline let out a horrified groan, covering her face with her book in shame. "Must you rub salt in my wound?" She begged, lowering the book enough to give the unfairly smug Sirius and James her saddest look. "It's bad enough I can't play—now I have to sit in the stands and watch a team that I spent _weeks_ perfectly crafting go down in flames."

Both boys laughed gleefully. "You should've thought of that before you let Slughorn nominate Avery as captain," James teased, grinning.

She rolled her eyes in return. "As if I had a say in the matter. Besides, if you have a well-known last name, Slughorn couldn't give a damn about your talents." Caroline paused and sent both boys a mischievous look. "How else have you two idiots made it this far in Potions without failing?"

The entire table erupted into raucous laughter at the simultaneously offended yet impressed looks on each boy's face.

"You wound me, woman," Sirius cried out, puffing up his chest. "See if I let you take me on a date to Hogsmeade now."

The entire table suddenly became silent as each person tried to process what he'd just said—even Sirius himself looked a bit confused by the outburst. Caroline sat up slowly and turned to give him a confused look. "I don't recall ever asking you to go Hogsmeade with me this weekend," she replied, biting back an amused grin.

"Yeah," Dorcas joined in. "Especially considering she already made plans with us," she added, gesturing to herself and the other girls at the table.

Sirius opened and closed his mouth a few times, yet no sound came out—it almost made him look like some sort of deranged fish. "I—well, that is…you see—"

"What my idiot of a friend is trying to say," Remus cut in, looking delightfully entertained by this whole situation as his normally serious face was lit up by a wide grin, "is that he wanted to ask you out during lunch today. However, he has instead somehow managed to make a great big mess of it, as he does with most things."

"Thanks, Moony," Sirius muttered gruffly under his breath.

Caroline, now openly enjoying the Gryffindor's discomfort, let out a giddy laugh. "Is that so?" Caroline asked, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "This is quite a first for me, seeing as how I've never been asked to Hogsmeade in such a divertive manner. Honestly, it's truly an ingenious tactic. You should patent it or—"

Her taunting was cut short by Sirius clamping a hand over her mouth to silence her. Caroline continued to try to speak but gave up when the hand remained firmly in place. Sirius looked deeply into her eyes, causing a few butterflies to pop up in her stomach, before he solemnly asked, "Caroline Grayson, will you do me the honor of going on a date in Hogsmeade this weekend?" At the sound of an indignant squawk coming from Dorcas, he added, "After you finish whatever it is you're doing with them."

Caroline smiled underneath his palm and nodded her head, Sirius's arm moving along with her. Satisfied, Sirius let go of her face and the two shared a brief kiss that was met with booing and heckling by everyone else at the table. When they refused to stop, James grabbed a roll from the center of the table and chucked it at Sirius, hitting him square in the ear.

"Oi!" Sirius exclaimed as the two broke apart, pulling Caroline into the position she was before under his arm. "We're adorable and you lot know it!"

Later on, as the group started to separate for afternoon classes, Sirius pulled Caroline slightly to the side and murmured softly in her ear, "Room of Requirement? Tonight?"

She chuckled, leaning back to give him a stern look. "You and I both know that I have rounds this evening, so I suggest you give up on trying to make me forget about them."

"I didn't think you would forget," Sirius insisted. "I'd hoped that my rebellious nature was starting to rub off on you and you'd just skip them to be with your deliciously handsome boyfriend."

Caroline shook her head. "It's a wonder you can even hold your head up, Sirius Black, considering how inflated it is," she teased.

Sirius smiled proudly in return and leaned down to kiss her goodbye. Before things could get too heated, they were interrupted by James's call of, "Let her breathe, Padfoot!" The two broke apart, each giving the messy haired boy varying looks of disapproval, and Sirius went to join his friends, smiling at Caroline one last time before he left.

As she stood in the corridor, Caroline glanced to her right and caught Marlene staring at her, who then quickly brought her eyes down to her nails in an effort to look disinterested or bored. A stab of guilt hit Caroline and she slowly made her way over to the other girl, expression sheepish and timid.

"Marlene?" Caroline inquired politely, watching the girl slowly look up from her maroon nails to meet eyes with her. "Could we talk for a moment?"

Marlene considered her offer for a moment, glancing over at where Lily and Mary were waiting for her to go to their next class together. She looked back Caroline and nodded slowly, gesturing for them to round the corner where fewer students would be likely to eavesdrop on their conversation. Once they were finally alone, Caroline took in a deep, steadying breath to prepare herself for this tough conversation—however, she was beaten to the punch by Marlene.

"I just want to start this off by saying that I'm not angry with you or Sirius," Marlene promised.

"Really?" Caroline asked, shoulders sagging down. "I'm so relieved! I was sure you thought I was some conniving snake."

Marlene smiled. "Snake you may be, but you're no liar. I believe that you started as just friends and then it progressed into something else," she said. "Besides, everyone seems to be forgetting that Sirius and I never really dated. It was a bit more… _physical_ than that."

Caroline squirmed at the mention of their past "relationship"—unable to stop her mind from recalling all the times she'd seen them together, all the little moments that had eaten away at Caroline's heart and self-esteem. "Yes, well," she continued on, eager to move on. "I just wanted to make sure everything was alright between the two of us. You're my friend and I wouldn't want anything with Sirius to get in the way of that."

Marlene smiled. "Me either. Besides, you're the only one who's going to keep me sane during this dress shopping escapade at Hogsmeade. Dorcas is about to go full diva on us and I can't handle that alone."

Caroline laughed loudly, shaking her head at their friend's antics. "At least you and I can hold our own against Dorcas—what's going to happen to poor Mary and Lily? They're too nice to survive it."

With that, the two girls walked back to where their friends were still waiting, snickering quietly amongst themselves at what Saturday would bring.

* * *

Saturday morning Caroline found herself eating breakfast at an unusually early hour, eyes still drooping with sleep as she'd been dragged out of bed by Dorcas—"Honestly, Caroline, you know every girl in our year will be shopping today. We have to get there early!"—long before she was ready to face the day. Glancing across the table, she could see the other girls were equally out of sorts, no doubt getting similarly rude wakeup calls from their fiery friend. Each was in similar states of disarray—poor Mary was so tired she'd only remembered to braid one half of her hair.

"Eat quickly!" Dorcas reminded them for what was probably the fifth time. She'd already finished her breakfast and was just sitting at the table, surveying their progress—which was almost always not enough for her.

Caroline gave her friend a dark look. "You've already stolen a few good hours of sleep from us all, why can't you just let us eat in peace?"

"Yeah," Mary agreed with a wide yawn. "The shop doesn't even open for another hour."

Dorcas huffed. "You all are lucky I am here to guide you," she said sternly. "We have to be there right when the store opens or we'll never get a good pick of dresses."

The other four girls groaned. "Please, Dorcas," Lily begged, green eyes beseeching their friend. "Just let us take it slow today, alright? Not everyone is as…intense as you."

"Fine," Dorcas sighed, leaning back in her chair petulantly. "Eat as slow as you want. But I still want to get there as soon as possible." She paused to glance over the other girls' appearances. "And for Merlin's sake, Mary, finish your other braid!"

Once breakfast was (finally) finished and the girls had an opportunity to make themselves look somewhat presentable, they made their way down the frigid path from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade. The walk felt abnormally long on that day because a winter chill had already begun to settle in the air, whipping at the girls' faces and rubbing their noses red. Caroline wove her arm through Dorcas's and leaned into the other girl to keep warm, watching as the other girls began to do the same.

Eventually, they arrived at the dress shop just as the owner flipped the sign from CLOSED to OPEN, Dorcas clapping delightedly at her perfect planning skills. The group entered the shop, sighing happily at the warmth of the room as they began to remove scarfs and gloves. The group dispersed around the room and began browsing through the racks, holding up each option they found for approval from the other members of their party.

As they searched for their perfect dresses, the group began to discuss the Yule ball itself as well as who they planned on going with.

"As I'm sure you all know," Dorcas proudly proclaimed, fingering the seams of a mauve colored dress with lots of tulle, "I was asked by Ravenclaw's delightfully delicious Kieran Murphy—almost as soon as the invitations were sent out."

The other girls exchanged derisive looks—yes, they had heard about Dorcas being asked by Murphy. Many times, at length, by the woman herself. "Yes, dear," Marlene muttered derisively, "how could I forget? You only mention it every hour of every day."

Dorcas snorted, unfazed by her friend's derisive tone. "Don't be bitter, McKinnon, just because you don't have a date yet."

Marlene whipped her long, dark tresses over her shoulder to give the other girl a stern look. "Actually, as it so happens, I do have a date to the Yule ball."

"Really?"

"Who?"

The dark beauty smiled coyly at the onslaught of questions. "Ah-ah," she teased. "You lot aren't getting an answer out of me so easily. It'll just have to be a surprise."

Mary sighed. "At least you have a date," she complained, her bottom lip poking out in a pout. "I've been hinting to Remus for weeks that I want to go to with him and what has he done? Absolutely nothing."

"You could always ask him yourself," Lily suggested. "Remus is a bit thick sometimes when it comes to girls."

The other girl nodded. "I think that's what I've resigned myself to." She paused for a moment and then a mischievous look came over her face. "What about you, Lily?"

Pink flooded the red-head's cheeks as she suddenly became very intent in examining the price of one dress. "What about me?"

"Don't play coy, you know what I mean. Has Potter asked you yet?"

The blush became even darker. "No…" Lily said a bit sadly. "No attempts whatsoever."

"Well," Caroline offered, feeling bad for the other girl, "maybe you just need to subtly let him know you're interested."

Lily nodded. "I know, it's just…well, he hasn't even tried!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands up in frustration. "He didn't even try and ask me to go to Hogsmeade this weekend! He never leaves me alone about stuff like that, so…what if things have changed?"

Caroline moved closer to the other girl, pulling her into a tight hug before gripping her shoulders tightly. "Listen here, Lily Evans," she ordered sternly. "You are intelligent, funny, kind, and knock-your-socks-off gorgeous. Any wizard would be lucky to have you. But you're an idiot if you think James Potter has stopped obsessing over you—the boy couldn't function without you."

Lily smiled at the pep talk, her spirits already visibly lifted. "Alright, alright," she said, shaking off Caroline's hold. "You're right, I just need to help that toerag get his act together."

"That's the spirit!" Dorcas interjected, smiling widely. "Besides, if you need any tips, Caroline's already bagged one Marauder—I'm sure she has insight to get another two."

At her friend's words, a realization struck Caroline—she and Sirius had never actually agreed to go to the Yule ball together. While logically it seemed fairly obvious that that's how things would go, it was still a bit harrowing to realize. In truth, the two hadn't been able to discuss much of anything since the fight last week. It had been a whirlwind of detentions, rumors, and loss of privacy, providing essentially no time for the discussion of such mundane topics as the Yule ball.

"Yes," Marlene said, interrupting Caroline's train of thought. "I was so jealous of that little display between Sirius and Adam. I'd kill for two fit boys to be fighting over me like that."

Mary hummed in agreement. "You must've been a bit pleased by the whole thing, right Caroline?"

Caroline pasted on a smile, knowing words would betray her. _"No, Mary,"_ she wanted to say. _"I did not find two boys I care about fighting over me like a bunch of meatheads to be flattering in any way."_ Such a response would no doubt not be well-received, so Caroline kept her smile pleasant but her mouth shut and continued to look through the racks.

Dorcas, sensing the tension in the air, deftly changed topics as she pulled out a dress and gasped dramatically in delight. "Oh, Mary, this dress is _perfect_ for you!" The other girl came rushing over, squealing in what seemed to be agreement?

"It's gorgeous!" Mary replied, reaching out to trace the tulle of the blush colored gown. Grabbing it up from Dorcas, she turned to the others and said, "I have to try it on right now!"

The dress was beautiful, of course—as if Dorcas would lead anyone astray in such matters. It was a simple pink dress with a strapless, sweetheart neckline that complimented Mary's shoulders and a satin bow that cinched in the waist. Overall, it fit the girl perfectly and was purchased on the spot.

Everyone was able to find a dress, with Dorcas's sage advice.

Lily's dress ended up being a dark, emerald green color to match her eyes. It had a high neckline with capped sleeves that were lightly bedazzled with small jewels. The dress had an empire waistline and flowed out around her in waves of tulle, with small embroidered flowers covering the bottom half of the gown. It was dark and seductive, yet capitalized on the feminine and maternal energy that Lily always exuded.

The dress that Marlene settled on was beautiful and emphasized the girl's sultry dark looks. It was a simple black dress with thin spaghetti straps and a deep v-cut neckline, the material then cinching in at the waist to emphasize her curves. The slit that went all the way up to her thigh looked gorgeous on the other girl and, to top it all off, there were small silver beads all over the torso which caught the light beautifully.

Dorcas, of course, went decidedly bold for her own gown. The dress was one-shoulder and covered almost entirely in gold jewels. The bodice was encrusted in gorgeous jewels, shining brightly under the lighting of the shop, yet—as the dress continued further—the gems tapered off to reveal dark gold silk fabric at the very bottom of the dress. It was a dress fit for an Egyptian goddess, which made it perfect for the dark-skinned beauty that Dorcas was.

Finally, at the very end of their excursion, Caroline discovered her own dress for the ball. She'd gone in knowing that Dorcas would push for extravagance and finery in Caroline's gown, but she wanted to keep it simple and classic. Her dress was cherry-colored silk that came in tight to the waist and then fanned out dramatically into a large ball gown. It had no embroidery or jewels, yet Caroline felt like a queen in this dress. The spaghetti straps and tight bodice complimented her figure, but the skirt had an added bonus of pockets—something every simple girl dreamed of.

In the end, each girl was delighted with their choices and left feeling more excited than ever for the Yule ball festivities.

As the group of girls exited the shop—tittering excitedly amongst themselves—Caroline was grabbed by the arm abruptly and pulled into a familiar embrace.

"Sirius!" She exclaimed, pulling from his hold to give him a good whack on the shoulder. "Didn't your pureblood mother ever teach you not to grab a lady?"

"I didn't grab a lady," he replied with a grin. "I grabbed you."

"Why, I—"

Sirius was saved from another lashing by Remus reaching out and whacking him upside the head with his new book from Flourish and Blotts for her. The dark-haired marauder clutched the back of his head, turning to give his friend a dirty look. "What was that for?!"

"Consider it payback for dragging us all the way over here," Remus replied, opening his weapon to continue wherever he'd left off in the chapter.

Caroline looked to see the other Marauders there as well, all looking like they'd rather be anywhere but here. "You dragged your poor mates here to watch you harass your date? How childish, Mr. Black," she teased, but nonetheless leaned forward to hug the boy tightly. Leaning over—still wrapped up in Sirius's arms—Caroline added to the others, "Why don't you boys go join the others? Lily and Mary are quite lonely, seeing as they've still haven't got dates for the ball. Perhaps you can provide a nice shoulder to cry on."

James immediately broke out into a run to catch up with the girls, the mention of Lily all the incentive he needed, while Peter and Remus were a bit more sluggish in pace to catch up with them. This left Caroline and Sirius alone in each other's arms, providing each other warmth against the chill that still hadn't faded from the air, despite the sun in the sky indicating it was already mid-day.

Pulling back slightly, Caroline glanced over his shoulder to see a group of Hufflepuffs in the distance—one of which happened to be her ex-boyfriend, Adam. The two met eyes and, at first, his gaze was friendly—that is until he realized who she was holding onto. Then he gave the back of Sirius's head a dark look before turning back to his friends. The silent exchange caused Caroline to lose her previously bright and giddy expression.

"What is it?" Sirius asked, noticing the change in her demeanor. Glancing over his shoulder to follow her gaze, he realized the cause of Caroline's discontent and let out a low growl, reminding Caroline of his rather furry secret.

"Don't worry about him," Caroline assured Sirius, putting on a brave face. "Besides, you really shouldn't growl at others. It's already a well-known fact you're a bit of a mangy mutt."

"Just for that," Sirius countered, turning his nose up in the air. "I'm not going to tell you where we're going for our first official date."

Caroline chuckled, weaving her arm through his as they set off on their journey together. "Well, Hogsmeade isn't that big, so I think it won't take long to figure it out."

Sure enough, in less than five minutes, Caroline found herself entering behind Sirius into Hog's Head, a tavern and inn run by a gruff-looking man eerily resembling Dumbledore. This wasn't a hotspot for students—or anyone else—on account of the fact that the place was generally quite dusty and grimy, not to mention extremely small. There were a few tables scattered about, dimly lit by one large bay window encrusted in grim.

While not every girl's idea of a perfect first date, Caroline understood its appeal because not a single soul was in the tavern. It provided the couple with privacy from the prying eyes that now tended to follow them wherever they went.

"I know it's a bit of a dump, but—" Sirius began, only to be cut off by Caroline pressing her lips against his.

"It's perfect," she assured him, moving to have a seat at one of the smaller tables. Wiping away some of the dust with her hands, Caroline wondered how the place would look with a deep clean—despite having only one major light source, the structure of the room seemed fairly sound and could accommodate a moderate number of customers.

Sirius and Caroline sat across from each other for a moment, neither one really sure what to say. Despite the fact they'd been alone countless times and never struggled to find a topic of conversation, this time felt different. Now there were expectations placed upon them—this wasn't another night in the Room of Requirement, it was an official _date_. Caroline didn't claim to have much experience in the area—the few dates she'd had with Adam had felt unreal at the time, like she was an actress playing a part. She hated the idea of her time with Sirius becoming equally stiff.

"So…" Caroline began, smiling in an attempt to push away the tension in the air. "What exactly does a first date with Sirius Black entail?"

The Gryffindor boy pretended to think for a moment, stroking his chin and twirling a metaphorical mustache. "Hmm…it typically consists of me sweeping you off your feet with my wit and charm followed by loads of snogging."

A loud laugh broke out of Caroline, ringing through the previously quiet room. She covered her mouth, cheeks flaming as the man behind the bar gave her a dark look. "You're absolutely ridiculous," Caroline muttered, rolling her eyes. "How about we play a game?"

"What kind of game? The kind where someone wins?"

She shook her head. "No. It's a game where we take turns asking each other hard-hitting questions. If you can't answer the question, then…" She glanced around the room and then a mischievous smile overcame her. "The first person who refuses to answer a question has to drink out of the dirty mug sitting on the bar that I am confident hasn't been moved—much less _cleaned_ —in at least thirty years."

Sirius grinned widely. "I'm in. Get ready to drink, Grayson."

"We'll see," she replied. "I'll ask first."

"That's hardly fair—what if you ask a tough question straight away?"

"Then I guess that means you lose," she teased, causing Sirius to huff and cross his arms over his chest.

Putting on an air of indifference, Sirius waved his hand and said, "Ask away, then."

Caroline tapped her fingers on her chin. Did she go hard on him straight out of the gate? Or lull this poor fool into a false sense of security and then attack? "In our fifth year," Caroline started, eyeing the way Sirius's fingers tapped impatiently on their dusty table, "you and the other Gryffindor troublemakers were given a month of detention by McGonagall, yet no one could ever figure out why. So, what is it that you boys did?"

Sirius laughed gleefully. "You're going to have to try a little harder than that to stump me," he bragged, puffing up his chest. "Well, for this particular incident, I wasn't directly incriminated but rather guilty by association. One night, we were running late to dinner—"

"Perish the thought!" Caroline joked.

Sirius's eyes widened as if to indicate the severity of this situation. "Exactly. So, we were rushing down when we saw Snivellus—"

" _Severus_."

"Honestly, woman, do you want me to answer the question or not?" He inquired and Caroline held her hands up in surrender. "Anyway, we saw Snape walking alone and James decided to utilize one of the Vanishing spells we'd been learning in Transfiguration to get rid of the greasy git's hair. However, my dear friend's timing was rather unfortunate during his casting because—just as he said the words—Snape rounded a corner and McGonagall came around it the other way, stepping into the direct path of James's spell."

Caroline made an odd choking noise—caught between gasping in horror and guffawing loudly—shaking her head wildly as she did so. "James vanished McGonagall's _hair_?!"

Sirius was shaking with laughter at this point. "Yes," he said. "We were all convinced she was going to murder us all right in that corridor."

"I'm surprised you got off with only a month," Caroline added. "Such an offense, I'd expect at least three."

He shrugged. "I think she was conflicted between being angry at her hair loss or impressed that he was even capable of performing the spell."

Leaning back into her chair, Caroline placed a hand on her stomach, already sore from laughter. "Merlin, that was good," she muttered more to herself than anyone else. "I would pay money to have seen that."

"I know—I was almost glad at getting detention along with him, just for the reward of seeing Minnie's shiny bald head."

That started Caroline up again, cackling and gasping for air. "Stop!" She begged between laughs, clutching at her sides. "I can't take it!"

"Alright, alright," Sirius acquiesced. "You started me off easy, so I'll do the same for you. Have you ever gotten detention and, if yes, for what?"

"That's two questions," Caroline pointed out, though looked less than bothered by the prospect. She sat there for a moment, trying to think of any time where she'd been in enough trouble to gain detention. "However, I think I can take it down to one because I've never had detention."

"Never?!" Sirius exclaimed, looking positively flabbergasted. To think, a prankster dating a girl who had never gotten into trouble.

She smiled. "Well, I came close when I fought that kid in third year, but I think McGonagall was secretly proud of me because she never really punished me beyond a stern look."

"Ah, Minnie, that old softie," he said with a sigh. "Alright. Hit me with your best shot."

This question Caroline had been brewing whilst Sirius had taken forever to come up with his own question for her. "What is the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you?"

"Merlin's beard, Caroline!" The Gryffindor boy replied, running a hand through his dark waves of hair. "Didn't hold back this time, did you?"  
Caroline smiled smugly, shrugging her shoulders. "There aren't any rules against it."

"I guess not…" Sirius muttered. He glanced around the empty room as if waiting for James or Remus to pop out from around the corner to embarrass him.

"Alright, the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to me…I'd say it's got to be the time that Remus and I ended up naked in the Gryffindor common room during our second year."

" _What?!_ " Somehow, Sirius was managing to shock Caroline to no end during this game. "How in the world did _that_ happen?"

Sirius sighed. "Our dear friend Peter was practicing a spell—don't even remember what the spell was actually supposed to do—but he ended up vanishing our clothes right then and there, in front of all the other Gryffindor students. Worst of all—the pièce de résistance, if you will—none of us knew how to bring them back and everyone else was too busy laughing at us, so we just had to run upstairs while still completely naked."

By the end of his tale, Caroline was howling with laughter and wiping tears from the corners of her eyes. "Oh, Merlin," she wheezed. "That was even better than I could've hoped. Also," she added, breathing a bit more under control but still quite labored, "I love the fact this most likely is Remus's most embarrassing moment as well, so I really got a two-for-one deal on that."

Sirius rolled his eyes petulantly. "Glad you've enjoyed it," he muttered.

Caroline reached out and placed her hand over his, giving it a good squeeze. "Don't worry, I promise this'll stay between the two of us…and every other person in that common room."

"Laugh it up, sweetheart," Sirius replied. "But you forget that it's my turn to question you."

"Go ahead," Caroline taunted confidently. "I've got nothing to beat that doozy of a tale."

Her date grinned impishly. "You say that you've had a crush on me since we were in our second year…" Caroline already didn't like where this was going. "So, what's the most cringe-worthy, lovesick thing you've ever said about me to someone else?"

 _Sweet Circe, he knew just what to ask, didn't he?_ Caroline's confident stance melted into a puddle on the floor, leaving a blushing girl in its wake. She flopped her head onto the table and begged, "Sirius, please, don't make me say it."

"You don't have to say it," Sirius assured her, watching the way her head perked up and a smile began to come back onto her face. "You'll just have to drink out of that nasty mug."

Caroline huffed, leaning back to cross her arms over her chest and stick her nose up in the air. "Fine, I'll answer. But if you hold this against me, I swear on Merlin himself, Sirius Black, I will make you pay."

"Yeah, yeah, pain of death and all that jazz—now answer the bloody question!"

"Alright!" Caroline shouted back, still in a defensive stance. "I once may have told Dorcas that…that your hair was so gorgeous that I..." She finished the rest of the sentence in a rush, the words blurring together into one big verbal mess.

"Sorry, what? I didn't get that last bit."

Caroline sighed again. "I said, that your hair was so beautiful I wanted to…to…"

"To what?" Sirius almost shouted, practically on the edge of his seat.

"To…bury myself in it."

Of all the things she could've said, that is not what Sirius expected. "What?"

"You know, to put myself out of my misery," Caroline said as though that explained everything.

Sirius's face had become permanently frozen into some sort of twisted expression caught between confusion and amusement. "Let me get this straight," he clarified, each word coming out slowly and deliberately. "You were so enchanted by my gorgeous tresses that you wanted to bury yourself in it?"

"Look, I was 12, it was a very intense stage for my crush—"

"Excuses won't get you out of this mess, love," Sirius teased, face resuming its usual smug expression. "Who knew you had such violent urges."

"I swear, Sirius, I will—"

"Cause me loads of pain and misery if I hold this over you, I know," he intoned, sounding positively bored at the possibility of being on the receiving end of Caroline's ire.

The two went back and forth like this for a while, exchanging witty words and tough-to-answer questions. With each ridiculous question, the two found themselves learning more and more about the other person. While Caroline had suggested the game as a way to break the ice, she was pleasantly surprised by how much she was getting to know about Sirius—such as his deathly fear of small places ("Despite my animagus, the idea of being locked in a crate makes me want to tear off my own head.").

Caroline was about to corner Sirius with another one of her own off-putting questions when she looked up at the clock and saw that they'd been at this for nearly two hours. "We're going to have to cut this game a bit short," she said, nodding towards the clock.

Sirius glanced over his shoulder. "Alright, but this is only a pause—there's no way in hell I'm going to drink out of that disgusting cup."

"Agreed, the idea is equally repulsive to me."

The two wrapped themselves back up in their scarves and gloves before making their way out of the pub, hand-in-hand as their contentious game was temporarily forgotten. _Overall_ , Caroline thought to herself as they headed into the main square of Hogsmeade, _the date had been quite successful_. A minor hiccup in the beginning but still as fun and laidback as any other time the two were together. It gave her hope for the two of them, of what they could be and of their ability to defy what appeared to be the world's expectations over how this relationship would go.

Just as they reached a more populated area of Hogsmeade, Caroline spotted James, Remus, and Peter huddled together tightly. Judging by their coy expressions and careful exclusion of the outside world from their discussions, they were clearly up to no good. She watched the way Sirius kept glancing over at them longingly and smiled.

It was clear to see that Sirius felt some sort of "boyfriend obligation" to stay with her, yet truly desired to go join his friends in causing some more mischief today. Caroline made the decision for him by standing up on her tiptoes to give him a quick kiss before saying, "You lot stay out of too much trouble, alright?"

When Sirius looked completely bemused, she gave him a hard shove in the direction of his friends and watched the recognition light up his stormy gray eyes followed by gratitude. "See you later," he called back to her before jogging over to the other boys.

Caroline rolled her eyes and continued back to the castle alone, satisfied with the day's turn of events.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Hello, everyone! Long time, no see.**

 **I know it's been ages since I've updated, so I hope this extra long chapter will help make up for it in some way. I'd also like to apologize for the rather abrupt ending of the chapter, but as always there will be more to come in the next chapter. Thank you everyone who has stuck by this story and continued to favorite, follow, review, etc. even while I was on a brief hiatus. Hopefully, now that it's summer, I'll have more opportunities to write and keep the updates a bit more regular.**

 **Anyway, please leave a review letting me know what you think and favorite/follow if you haven't already! It really does mean a lot to me!**


	17. Ch 17: It's the Madness in His Eyes

**Chapter 17: It's the Madness in His Eyes**

* * *

Sweat dripped down Caroline's crinkled brow as she screwed her eyes shut and concentrated on the task before her. _You can do this,_ she told herself. _It's happened so many times before—you just have to_ make _it happen now._ She tried to push away all her stray thoughts and let the clutter of her day-to-day life be forced aside for a vision to take over. Eyes closed, she waited for that fuzzy feeling to start in her fingertips—much in the way it had in the Great Hall.

However, nothing came.

Letting out a huff of air, Caroline opened her eyes again to see Desma Rousseau glaring from her place behind McGonagall's desk—the Transfiguration professor had kindly permitted them to use her classroom this evening. "It didn't work," Caroline said, though she'd uttered those words so many times they were starting to lose meaning. She didn't bother trying to look contrite—Caroline had lost the ability to feel apologetic around hour two of this lesson. Instead, she dropped down to have a seat on the floor and pressed her fingers against her temple. She moved the digits in a circular motion, ignoring the beads of sweat pooling there in favor of massaging away the splitting headache that refused to fade.

"Eet iz difficult, _cherie_ , I know," Desma said, though her expression remained stern and devoid of any sympathy. "Ze ability to command ze future at will iz rare. 'owever, I cannot 'elp you control zem unless I see you en action, _d'accord_?"

Caroline shrugged her shoulders as if to say "Do I have much of a choice?" before pushing herself back onto her feet and standing at the center of the room once more. This time she didn't even try to think, instead letting her mind completely leave her body and take all her worries with it. It left her feeling completely flushed out, like her body was some sort of empty shell.

It was then that the fuzziness began to creep up her fingertips. She steeled herself against the urge to panic as this misty force continued up her forearms, spreading across her skin. If Caroline had to describe the sensation to an outsider, she would compare it to sinking into a pool of water—every appendage that was taken over by this fuzzy feeling began to float away from Caroline and her consciousness.

"It's happening," she heard her own voice call from far away, echoing off the walls like a cave. Despite knowing it was her who'd spoken the words, Caroline still wondered where the voice came from. She could feel her heart beginning to beat faster in her chest, signaling the familiar panicked sensation that came with her visions.

"Lean in," Desma's voice called back, just as far as Caroline's had been. "'arness ze feeling, _cherie_."

Caroline tried to listen and took in a deep breath, holding it for a beat, and then letting it out again. She did this once, twice, three times—each breath easing more and more tension from her shoulders, her neck, her head. Eyes still closed, Caroline allowed herself to manifest the fuzzy sensation in her mind as a body of water she was slowly sinking down into. With one final breath, Caroline imagined herself completely submerging under water.

* * *

 _Caroline was lying flat on her back, gaze turned up to a starry night sky without a cloud in sight. Moving her arms slowly, she could feel blades of grass underneath her fingertips and saw a tree line out of the corner of her eye. The air around her was so cold it almost burned, Caroline's breath coming out in white puffs. She slowly sat up and glanced around, taking care to remember Desma's words and keeping her heartbeat as steady as possible._

 _She was sitting towards the edge of an open field made up of unkempt grass that was tall enough to brush just under her nose from her position on the ground. The blades were tipped with ice and stiff to the touch as well as larger patches of half-melted snow a few meters away—_ It must be towards the end of winter _, Caroline observed. Standing up, Caroline spotted a blazing bonfire thirty meters or so away and began to make her way towards it. As she walked, a group of ten cloaked figures suddenly appeared, their bodies completely concealed with dark fabric and their faces covered by varying masks—almost all of them were some variation on an animal or magical creature._

 _Shuddering, Caroline continued to move closer as the figures shifted around to form a large circle around the bonfire. No one said a word as they waited patiently for this odd meeting to start. Caroline pushed through the circle and stood slightly in front of them, looking around for someone to start speaking._

 _Just as abrupt an arrival as the others, one final cloaked figure appeared in the center of the circle, less than a breath away from where Caroline stood. The first thing she noticed about this figure was their exposed hands, which had sallow skin stretched tightly across bony knuckles and joints. The nails of these hands were claw-like and sharp, carefully tapping against the slender wand in the figure's hand. Caroline also noticed in a brief bout of combined amusement and horror that this person was walking around with completely bare feet—of whom greatly resembled the hands in color and upkeep._

 _Reaching up to touch their hood, the figure pulled it back to reveal one of the most horrifying visages Caroline had ever encountered._

 _This man—if you could even call him that, for it was clear he had not been human for some time—had pale and pallid skin to match his hands. The haunting color of his skin combined with the way his facial features were almost..._ melted _(far too warped to be considered human anymore) made this person all the more akin to a dead man walking. His eyes were so bloodshot they'd become almost completely red and the way his teeth—gnarled and yellowing—pulled into a twisted perversion of a smile made Caroline's stomach churn sickly. It did not take a genius to figure out who this depraved figure was: Lord Voldemort himself._

 _In order to repress the urge to vomit, Caroline turned to look at the individuals in the circle. She observed the way some of them began to shift their weight from foot to foot, their eyes downcast—it was clear this group was new to the Dark Lord's horde of followers. Whatever affinity they may have felt for his cause, it became evident that even this group of hateful bigots couldn't handle You-Know-Who's sinister presence._

 _"Loyal comrades," the Dark Lord began, his voice comparable to the sharp hiss of a snake. "What information have you brought to me? My time is quite valuable as you know and I would hate for it you to…_ waste _it."_

 _The group seemed to exchange looks amongst themselves before one man in a silver bird mask spoke up, "We have information regarding Dumbledore's newest weapon."_

 _Voldemort inclined his head in the direction of this voice. "Go on…" he commanded._

 _"We believe," the man continued, "that Dumbledore has found a powerful Seer, my lord. One who is able to witness the future herself in small vignettes, as opposed to the vague interpretations by the likes of Trelawney and others with the Sight."_

 _Caroline's heart leapt into her throat._ It's me _, she thought frantically,_ they're telling You-Know-Who about me.

 _"And who is this powerful Seer?" inquired Voldemort, his attention now fully focused on the man who had spoken. Unfortunately, the full force of the Dark Lord's gaze left the man a bit tongue-tied and he struggled to answer the question._

 _"I…That is, my lord, we…"  
_

 _The man was too slow to pull his words together and, with a flick of Voldemort's wand, silenced by the complete removal of his tongue. "Now," Voldemort proceeded with an air of exasperation, turning his back on the man as he clutched his throat and gasped. "Who can answer this elementary question of mine? I want a_ name _." The last word came out in a low growl, causing Caroline to jump in fright._

 _"My lord," a female voice said from across the circle. She was wearing a black silk mask that covered the top half of her face and a thin veil which was just opaque enough to blur her features. Through the fabric, Caroline could see a pair of narrow lips pursed together tightly. "We know not the woman's name—only that she exists. Dumbledore is keeping her identity a secret from even those closest to him."_

 _Voldemort let out a long hiss of air, presumably his rendition of a sigh. "Imbeciles," he snapped, scarlet eyes flashing dangerously. Caroline felt her entire body tense up at this brief flash of rage, but—just as quickly as it came—the anger was gone and replaced with a queer serenity that didn't suit this monstrosity of a man. "Find this Seer," the Dark Lord commanded. "And bring her to me. She would be an extremely valuable asset to our cause."_

 _"And if she refuses?" A member of the circle blurted out stupidly, apparently having forgotten the incident earlier involving his comrade's tongue._

 _Voldemort's thin lips pulled back into another imitation of a smile, as though he found the question almost amusing. "I should think that would be obvious, Crabbe," he said, exposing the identity of this moronic masked man. "Kill her."_

 _Fear shot down Caroline's pine like a bolt of lightning, her entire body breaking out in a cold sweat. It was one thing to see the fates of others—strangers, friends, even family—yet it was another manner entirely to hear someone call for your own demise. A faint buzzing began to ring in her ears as the world around her started to fade. In her head, Caroline repeated over and over:_ What am I going to do?

* * *

Caroline awoke on the floor of the Transfiguration classroom with Desma and Professor Dumbledore standing over her with curious expressions on their faces. The sight of their eager looks made Caroline want to close her eyes and try again later—after being in the presence of Lord Voldemort, all she wanted to do was go back to her dorm and cuddle with her cat.

"Miss Grayson?" inquired the Headmaster, blue eyes as sagacious as ever. "Are you alright?"

Slowly pushing up into a sitting position, Caroline replied a bit acerbically, "Just peachy, Professor."

"And ze vision?" Desma asked immediately, her voice almost shaking with excitement. "Were you able to control eet?"

Caroline rubbed the back of her head where a knot had begun to form—apparently Desma hadn't attempted to stop her body from colliding with the hard stone floor. "I didn't feel very in control," she muttered. "Though this one lasted longer than any of the other ones while I was awake. I tried to stay calm as long as I could—just like you told me—but towards the end…it just wasn't possible."

Dumbledore hummed thoughtfully, turning to meet Desma's equally pensive gaze. "Perhaps your visions are linked towards inner peace and emotional stability," he observed, speaking more towards Caroline's French tutor than the girl herself. "Hence why your visions come to you in the form of dreams, when your body is relaxed and in stasis. Desma," he added as an aside, "I might suggest for future lessons to practice reproducing the physical effects of sleep while Miss Grayson is awake."

All this talk of future practice and more potential encounters with You-Know-Who's ugly mug was enough to bring back that nauseous feeling in Caroline's gut. As the two adults continued to debate future lesson plan content—sleep spells and research on the REM cycle—Caroline stood up and walked over to a nearby bin where she promptly threw up the entire contents of her stomach.

Faintly, as she continued to retch, she heard Dumbledore say, "Perhaps that is enough for this evening, Desma. Have a good night."

There was the sound of footsteps shuffling around the room and a door being opened, followed by a loud slam. Caroline gradually straightened up from her position over McGonagall's practically destroyed bin and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, feeling slightly better but still rather shaken up.

"Does this normally occur after one of your visions?" Dumbledore asked politely from his place above her. His face remained as serene as ever, despite the unpleasant stench now emanating from both the bin and Caroline. "Or was this past one particularly sickening?"

If Caroline hadn't felt so poorly, she might've laughed at the little play on words. Instead, she declined to answer Dumbledore's question in favor of sluggishly getting up to her feet and sitting down behind one of the desks in the front row. Dumbledore walked over with her, choosing to remain standing beside her—Caroline briefly wondered if he enjoyed looming over her in such an authoritative manner—before he flicked his wand, summoning a glass of water from McGonagall's back room and placing it in front of the sickly girl.

Caroline drank down the water gratefully, washing away the lingering taste of her own sick. "Thank you," she murmured delicately, as though she hadn't just chugged an entire glass of water in a matter of seconds.

"You're quite welcome," the Headmaster responded. "Now, I think it's best you tell me about what it is you saw this time. Don't let such heavy matters weigh down only your shoulders."

While she may not have been too inclined to confess her deepest, darkest feelings to her Headmaster, Caroline truly did want to be rid of the awful images flashing behind her eyes—sallow-colored hands reaching out towards her, crimson eyes flashing with anger, a crowd of masked faces.

"I saw him," she croaked, voice cracking on the final word.

"Who?"

"Voldemort, You-Know-Who, the Dark Lord, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named—whatever the _bloody hell_ you want to call him!" Caroline lashed out in a sudden, violent outburst of emotion. As quick as it came, the anger was gone and she was left feeling shame-faced upon meeting eyes with a shrewd-looking Professor Dumbledore.

"And what did you see Voldemort doing?" He asked just as calmly as one might ask about the weather. However, his eyes—which peaked over his half-moon glasses at Caroline—belied a deeper regret for her, a sort of pity that a young girl had to witness one of the most terrifying men in Wizarding history.

She sighed. "The vision was of a meeting between him and about ten of his recruits—all seemed to be fairly new to the job, seeing as they were as petrified of him as I was. He even…" She choked on her own words, feeling another wave of sickness overcome her as she thought of the man who'd lost his tongue. "Anyway, the meeting was held because the Death Eaters had some important information for their lord. They had intel that Dumbledore"—she glanced up sheepishly at having used the Headmaster's name so casually in front of him—"had a new weapon. A Seer who could see clear vignettes of the future."

By the end of her spiel, Dumbledore's eyes were filled with understanding—gone was the sort of giddy curiosity of before, as he now could fathom why Caroline was so particularly upset by this one vision. "I see," he murmured. "Were you able to see any of the faces of these followers?"

Caroline shook her head. "No, they were all wearing masks. Although," she added, remembering the final idiot who spoke during the meeting, "Voldemort referred to one person by name—Crabbe."

"I see," Dumbledore repeated, eyes downcast to the floor as he began to start a slow but steady pace, circling around the front of the room. He muttered a few things to himself, but they were spoken too softly for Caroline to make out. Finally, he came to a stop in front of her desk again and said, "You understand this puts you in a very dangerous position. As we know nothing about the timing of your vision, it is anyone's guess as to when Voldemort will learn of you and your abilities."

"They still don't know who I am," Caroline told him, quick to cut off any train of thought that involved sending her away or into hiding. "Even during this point in time, his supporters still don't know who I am. It's possible that they may never know!"

Dumbledore processed her words for a brief moment. "Be that as it may," the old man said, "it is still a great risk to have you here at school."

"Please, sir," she begged, blue eyes wide and beseeching. "Don't send me away to some safe house under lock and key. I'm safer at Hogwarts than I am anywhere else! And while I know it may not seem like it, I am not the kind of girl who's content to just stay locked away in a tower while everyone else tries to help those in need. I may be a Slytherin, but that doesn't mean I'm some—"

The Headmaster held up a long, spindly hand to silence the girl. "Miss Grayson," he said, lips turning up slightly. "None of this was meant to be a disparaging assessment of your character. I know you to be a very loyal and brave young woman. However, it is your safety—and the safety of those around you—that most concerns me."

"Please," Caroline begged once again. "Professor Dumbledore, I know the safest place for me to be is right here. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make you see that—be it more lessons with Desma or signing whatever the magical equivalent of a release form is—"

"Miss Grayson," the Headmaster interrupted, waving a hand to silence her. "I have no intention of sending you away—furthermore, I have not the grounds to do so. It is your choice whether you stay or go, I am only here to make sure you understand the consequences of both choices."

Caroline nodded, the panic fading from inside her chest. "Yes, sir," she said. "I understand and I choose to stay here."

Dumbledore smiled slightly. "Yes, I had a feeling that was your intended choice. In such case, I suggest you go to bed and rest, as tonight has been rather taxing for everyone involved."

* * *

Caroline returned to the dungeons that night feeling both physically and emotionally drained. It didn't help that everywhere she looked in the dark castle hallways—filled with hidden corners and odd sounds—she could see those red eyes watching her, could feel Voldemort's hands hovering just over her shoulder before he grabbed her. Upon finally arriving in the seventh-year girls' dorm, she tiptoed quietly to her bed, as her lesson had run far later than expected and most of the girls were already asleep.

As Caroline changed into pajamas and got ready for bed, she remembered a letter that she had tucked into her bag earlier in the day just before going to her lesson with Desma. Kneeling down beside her bed, Caroline attempted to dig through her cluttered schoolbag until she found the letter she was looking for—her name scrawled on the front her mother's elegant script. Ripping open the letter, she began to read.

 _Dear Caroline,_

 _I hope everything is going well with school. I know that seventh year can be difficult and it's easy to be overwhelmed by N. .s, but I hope you are still taking time to socialize and have fun. I can practically see you rolling your eyes at this bit, but let me have_ _my_ _fun—I am a Mum after all and we're practically made for worrying._

 _Anyway, I wrote to keep you updated on the progression of your father's case. As I am writing this to you, the arraignment took place this morning before the Wizengamot. Obviously, your father pleaded not guilty and the council elected to have his trial take place in exactly one week at the same place and time. All of this was as we had expected._

 _However, there were a few bumps. First, because your father's case is made up of a lot of "he said, she said"—also known as "pure rubbish evidence"—the trial itself will take a while. Second, once the trial is finished, the Wizengamot intends to take an entire session to debate the outcome of the trial—this, of course, means that it could be weeks before they come to any sort of decision._

 _That bit of information leads me to the last proverbial bump: the Wizengamot has elected to have your father await his trial and verdict in Azkaban under solitary confinement. I know this isn't what we expected or wanted and I know the thought of your poor father in such an awful place is particularly painful, but we will get through this, darling._ _Together_ _._

 _Finally, your father wanted me to let you know that he loves you so much and can't wait to see you when all this mess is over and done with. However, he has also firmly told me that under no circumstances are you allowed to attend any part of his court proceedings. Maybe it's his pride or perhaps he wants to shield you from how cruel the Ministry can be, but nonetheless he doesn't want you here and I intend on abiding by his wishes. Please don't fight us on this, as we do it out of love and care for your well-being._

 _I love you so much. Write soon._

 _Love, Mum_

 _P.S. Don't think I didn't notice your quick little mention of a new boy in your life during your last letter. I expect a full report when you come home for Christmas._

Reaching up to wipe away a stray tear, Caroline carefully folded up her mother's letter and tucked it back into the envelope with shaking hands. As she leaned over to place it into her trunk along with all the other letters she'd received from her family, Caroline let out a long, shuddering sigh. _Just when I thought tonight couldn't get any worse_ , she thought, sniffling.

With an almost clinical precision, Caroline pulled back the covers and climbed into bed, tucking herself in tightly. She laid on her back, eyes staring blankly at the dark green canopy around her. Without warning, her mind flashed to horrible images of her father in a dank, rusty cell. Every time she closed her eyes, she could see him in the same clothes from the paper, hunched in on himself as he huddled against a corner for warmth.

Due to these dark thoughts and the ever-present pair of scarlet eyes glaring every time she tried to go to sleep, Caroline spent most of the night wide awake, wondering when her life was ever going to be normal again.

* * *

The following morning Caroline was forcibly pulled from her rather depressed state as she had one (quite important) task to complete that day: help James Potter ask Lily to be his date to the Yule ball.

This whole plan began a few days before when Caroline—having gotten tired of seeing both Lily and James mope about—decided to get involved.

"James," she'd said as she sat in the Gryffindor common room one night, lounging on a couch with Sirius's head in her lap, her fingers combing gently through his dark curls. "I have a bit of a secret to tell you."

The messy-haired boy in question—who had been engaged in a rather cut throat game of Wizards' chess with Remus—glanced over at her disinterestedly. "Really?" He said, his tone anything but eager. Clearly, he was under the impression that her secret had nothing to do with him.

She had given him a stern look and replied, "If you keep up that attitude, I won't tell you my secret. And that would be rather unfortunate, seeing as it has to do with your 'precious Lily flower.'"

Almost immediately, James had gotten up and away from the chess game—earning an annoyed "Hey!" from Remus—and came to sit on the floor in front of Caroline.

Taking her only free hand in his, James solemnly swore, "If you tell me this secret, I promise to give you my and Lily's first born child."

Caroline had made a face at the idea of taking away someone's kid. "I don't want your future offspring, James, just shut up and promise to listen."

"I promise, oh beautiful and benevolent Caroline."

"Oi!" Sirius had piped up, opening one eye to glare at his best friend. "That's my girl you're talking to—keep it clean!"

Rolling her eyes, Caroline had continued on, "A young lady, whose name may or may not refer to a type of flower, told me that she's getting tired of waiting on you to ask her to the Yule ball."

All of the boys were immediately upright and staring at Caroline with wide, child-like eyes (with the exception of Peter, who hadn't understood and asked "Who?"). James, in particular, looked close to fainting at the news. His eyelids fluttered rapidly and his mouth was opening and closing in an equally brisk manner—the boy was clearly at a loss for words and the sight had been extremely satisfying for Caroline to witness.

"Are you…are you sure?" James asked in a small voice, as though the news was too good to be true—though after years of rejection, Caroline supposed it must've seemed that way.

She nodded. "Completely positive. Our dear Lily has been waiting for ages on you to ask. It's gotten to the point where she may just cave and go with some snot-nosed Ravenclaw that Dorcas knows instead."

"NO!" James had practically roared, jumping to his feet.

From that moment on, Caroline had been involved in planning what James had dubbed the "most epic proposal to have ever occurred—save for the one I'll do when I ask Lily to marry me." For three days, she, James, and his band of merry men had painstakingly planned every minute detail of this event—right down to the exact seat that Lily was supposed to sit in.

Which was Caroline's task at the moment as she left her last morning class and tracked Lily down before she arrived at the Great Hall for lunch. Luckily, she was easy to spot, having been already stopped by Professor Slughorn to discuss something boring and altogether mind-melting, no doubt.

Quickening her pace—she had a schedule to stick to, damn it!—Caroline came to a stop beside Lily, throwing her arm around the other girl's shoulder and refusing to let go.

Both Slughorn and Lily stared at Caroline with matching bemused expressions. "Um, Miss Grayson?" Slughorn asked, his tone verging on uncomfortable.

"Professor," Caroline began, putting on an air of deep regret, "I am so sorry to steal away your star pupil, but I really need Lily's help right this instance."

"Well, I—"

"Thank you so much, sir! See you in class!" Caroline cut in before the older man had a chance to respond and pivoted on her heel, starting off in the direction of the Great Hall. Dragging Lily along with her, she weaved through throngs of students, ignoring any glares or shouts when she "accidentally" ran someone over in the process.

The entire walk to the Great Hall, Lily kept making affronted noises and trying to talk to Caroline, but she was ignored every time. When they finally arrived at their destination, the redhead demanded, "Okay, what in Merlin's beard is going on?"

"Look," began Caroline, glancing over at the Gryffindor table for Lily's specifically designated seat. In it sat Peter, who had apparently forgotten everything they'd planned, and was munching away happily at his lunch. "I could explain this whole thing, but it would waste my time and yours, so just do what I say and everything will make sense in about a minute, okay? Okay."

Caroline marched down to where Peter sat, not having to look back to know that Lily was on her heels with a million questions on the tip of her tongue. "Peter, move. That's Lily's seat."

"What?" Peter asked indignantly. "There aren't assigned—"

"It's fine, Peter," Lily told him, giving Caroline a stern look. "I don't care where I sit."

Fed up with Peter's idiocy and Lily's stubborn behavior, Caroline glared down at the Gryffindor boy and said, "Well, it's important to me that Lily sits there—with her big mouth _shut_ , as I've had it to here with the inane questions—so I suggest you move now, Peter, or I won't hesitate to move you myself."

Peter, consistent only in his cowardly behavior, slid down one place on the bench and Lily obediently took his place—though not without giving Caroline a dark look and a rude gesture. Caroline, for her part, couldn't care less how pissed the two Gryffindors were as she'd completed her most important task for this plan: get Lily in place. Moving over to the seat across from her friend, Caroline leaned down as though to grab something from her bag but instead procured her record player, which had been tucked neatly under this exact seat, the needle perfectly poised in the spot it needed to be.

As gently and subtly as she could with a large record player, Caroline placed it on the seat beside her and glanced over to the door for her cue. Right on time, Remus stepped into the Great Hall with his hands folded behind his back. The two met eyes and the werewolf gave her a brief jerk of his head to indicate it was time to start.

With practiced precision, Caroline started to play the selected song—"You Make Loving Fun" by Fleetwood Mac—and muttered a spell to amplify the sound so that everyone in the room could hear it. As the opening beats began to play, students and teachers alike looked around the room for the source of the music. Lily, however, had seen the last bit of Caroline's little plan and was glaring at her friend.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Lily shouted over the blaring music.

Before Caroline had to come up with an answer, she heard James's horribly off-tune voice begin to sing, " _Sweet wonderful you. You make me happy with the things you do…_ "

The messy-haired Gryffindor stepped into the Great Hall wearing an outfit that would put Elton John himself to shame. He wore a full three-piece suit that was maroon velvet with sparkling gold trim and matching gold shoes. Furthermore, Sirius had decided it would be a good idea to enhance the suit with magical embroidered lions that leapt all over the back and sleeves of the coat as James moved. Overall, it was the most flamboyant thing Caroline had ever laid her eyes on.

" _Oh, can it be so. This feeling follows me wherever I go!_ " James continued to sing, his voice reverberating throughout the hall due to an Amplifying Charm that Remus had placed on his friend. Much like Caroline's record player, the Gryffindor boy's voice could be clearly heard by everyone in the hall—much to the chagrin of the rest of Hogwarts, staff and students alike.

Students began to part like the Red Sea as James made his way towards the Gryffindor table, doing an odd sort of dance/shuffle to the beat of the bass guitar. Despite his usual air of confidence, Caroline could see beads of sweat clinging to his forehead and heard the way his voice just barely shook as he sang—James Potter was extremely nervous.

" _I never did believe in miracles,_ " he continued on, as he got closer to his intended target, one Lily Evans. The girl in question could only be described as completely dumbfounded—her green eyes were as wide as saucers and her mouth was hanging open. " _But I've a feeling it's time to try. I never did believe in the ways of magic. But I'm beginning to wonder why._ "

When James finally stopped in front of Lily, the boy began to give it his all—dancing and shimmying with a renewed ferocity. However, Lily's expression continued to remain one of pure shock. If Caroline hadn't been sitting with her friend this whole time, she might've guessed that someone had frozen her features in place with a jinx.

" _Don't, don't break the spell. It would be different and you know it will,_ " James sang, eyes flicking to Caroline nervously when Lily continued to just stare—rage or lecturing would've been better than this unsettling quiet. However, as James finished his performance with the verse " _You, you make loving fun. And I don't have to tell you but you're the only one_ ", Lily's face broke out in a blindingly bright grin. The sight of her smile was enough to place an equally radiant look on James's face as the song came to an end.

"Well, Potter," Lily said, smile refusing to fade, "this had better be good after putting us all through your horrendous singing skills."

Crouching down on the floor, James propped himself up on one knee and reached behind his back to reveal a bouquet of lilies. "Lily Jane Evans, will you do me the superb honor of being my date to the Yule ball?"

The redhead pretended to think for a moment (just so she could watch the way he fretted) before smiling again and saying, "I thought you would never ask."

In a flash, James was on his feet and pulling Lily into a tight embrace, going so far as to lift her off the ground and swing her around in circles. When they pulled apart, James looked down to find the bouquet of flowers now crushed from his over-eager actions.

"It's alright," Lily assured him, taking what was essentially potpourri, and pulling him down into the seat next to her at the Gryffindor table. The two were disgustingly cute as they continued to meet gazes, only to look away with pink cheeks and glowing smiles. Their bodies remained close together—arms pressed up against each other, hands brushing—even as Lily carefully tried to place her gift on the table.

Caroline, who'd been wound tight as a spring, sagged down and let out a sigh of relief. "Thank Merlin that's over," she said, fanning herself. "I normally hate surprises, so it took quite a lot out of me to participate in this one."

"Thank you," Lily stated sincerely. "I know I wasn't too easy to round up."

"Definitely not," Caroline agreed, chuckling.

With their mission accomplished, Remus and Sirius came to join the group, taking a seat on either side of Caroline. The latter wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to his side, giving her a tight squeeze, before separating again. "Finally gave in, Evans?" He teased. "Only took you seven years."

Lily smirked. "Well, if only he'd done this performance of his sooner—I do love being exposed to such _great_ talent!"

This caused an uproar of laughter at James's expense, who pouted for a moment but returned to Cloud Nine when Lily reached over to give his hand a reassuring squeeze. He didn't bother trying to quip back at the redhead, his dreamy gaze indicating that his mind was far, far away.

"He's worse off than I thought he'd be," Sirius muttered into Caroline's ear, causing her to play off her loud guffaw as a cough. As she continued to snicker under her breath, she spotted the rest of their friends approaching with beaming grins on their faces.

Dorcas, Mary, and Marlene all dropped into open seats at the table, each one looking at Lily with down-right predatory expressions.

"So, Lily," Dorcas began, wiggling her eyebrows up and down, "that was quite a show. I never knew you were such a sucker for theatrics."

"Only when it involves Fleetwood Mac," their friend replied, completely unabashed. Much like James, she was so blissfully happy that no amount of teasing could bring her down from the high she was riding—she had a date with the boy she liked and that was all that mattered to her.

Caroline glanced over at Mary and watched the way she was eyeing Remus intently. From an outsider's point of view, the look Remus was receiving might have looked hostile, but Caroline immediately knew what it meant.

"Remus," Mary interrupted the group loudly, moving to stand up at the table. Students nearby stopped their lunchtime conversations to glance curiously over at the small, blond girl. "I'd been hoping you might get the hints I was giving you, but clearly that's not working so I'm just going to be blunt."

Remus's entire face turned a ghostly white, his eyes wide in much the same way Lily's had been. "I was wondering," Mary continued on, voice never wavering from its booming tone, "if you wanted to be my date to the Yule ball."

Every head at their table turned to watch Remus, who shrunk down under the pressure. "Uh, yeah, of course," he answered quickly, glancing around nervously.

The Hufflepuff girl let out a loud squeal, clapping her hands together. "Great!" She near-shrieked, making no move to sit down. Remus's once pale visage became tomato red as he watched the display Mary was causing, grimacing at the way practically the whole of his house continued to stare. Luckily for him, Dorcas stepped in and not-so-gently pulled Mary down into her seat.

"So, Padfoot," James said, generously saving his friend any further humiliation, "when are you going to step up, hmm? We've all acquired dates except for you. Don't keep the lady waiting too long."

Caroline glanced up at Sirius with an exaggerated air of disappointment, fluttering her eyelids in much the same way she'd seen many a lovesick third year do. "Yes, Sirius," she agreed. "When will you officially ask me to be your date? I might have to resort to Plan B—a date from Slytherin."

" _No_ ," James gasped, clutching at his heart. "Anything but that!"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah?" He asked. "And who exactly is this 'Plan B' of yours?"

She tapped her chin for a moment, thinking over all the boys in Slytherin that she knew. "Perhaps Phoebus Rowle would take me. He's a nice, quiet chap."

"A 'nice, quiet chap'?!" Sirius exclaimed

"Yeah, he's one of the more tolerable boys in Slytherin that I know," Caroline expanded. "A year younger than us, but you'd never guess with how smart he is. Plus, he comes from a nice pureblood family and you know how important that is to me. He would be a _wonderful_ date to the Yule ball."

Sirius glared at her. "You are _not_ going to the Yule ball with Phoebus Rowle."

"Why not? You've yet to ask me, so I see no harm in looking elsewhere."

Marlene, who had remained fairly quiet this whole time, cleared her throat suddenly. "Actually," she said, tucking her hair behind her ears, "I'm going with Phoebus to the Yule ball, so you'll have to find another back-up date."

The whole table fell silent as everyone turned to look at Marlene. Each person seemed to be searching for some sort of indication of humor—anything to explain why a popular Gryffindor girl would stoop so low as to go to the ball with a boy from Slytherin. When she stared right back and sat tall in her seat, the group realized this was no joke.

"That's great," Caroline said genuinely. "I really did mean it when I said Phoebus is a nice guy—he's always been nice to me, at least."

However, when she glanced at the others around her, none of them looked pleased in any way by this news. Sirius and James, in particular, looked almost angry by this revelation. "You've got to be kidding," Sirius said tensely, rolling his eyes. " _Rowle?_ "

"C'mon," James added. "The bloke's practically a Death Eater—his older brother has already been arrested for being a sympathizer."

Marlene's nostrils flared dangerously. "Just because his family is shit doesn't mean he is too."

"Look, Marlene," Sirius's voice took on a more soothing tone this time as he spoke, much like a parent might try to talk down to their child, "we just don't believe his intentions can be that good. I mean, why would he want to go to the Yule ball with someone in Gryffindor? Seems suspicious, is all."

Caroline fought the urge to smack her boyfriend upside the head.

"What, just because he's in Slytherin, that automatically makes him a bad person?" Marlene shot back, crossing her arms over her chest. "What about Caroline? Have you forgotten that she's in Slytherin _and_ a pureblood? Yet she's not some sort of raging psychopath."

"Well, Caroline's the exception to the rule," James rebuffed, shaking his head.

Caroline floundered for a way to diffuse the situation. "You can't just assume Phoebus is all bad when you've yet to even have a conversation with him!" When no one acknowledged her point, she looked to Lily—who was across from her—for some sort of assistance. Normally, the redhead operated as the voice of reason at the Gryffindor table.

However, Lily looked as apprehensive about Phoebus as the boys. "I'm not saying he's evil," she said, trying to appease Marlene, who looked more incensed by the second. "But he does spend a lot of time with people like Avery—who we do know are certified psychopaths."

Towards the end of the table, Mary shrunk in on herself and began to nervously wring her hands, reliving the unpleasant encounter she'd had with that group of boys.

"Seeing Phoebus with meatheads like Avery _once_ doesn't automatically mean they're friends," Marlene replied, shaking her head. Standing up in a rush, Marlene grabbed her bag and threw her stuff inside haphazardly, all while steadfastly keeping her head down.

As the Gryffindor turned to storm out of the Great Hall, Caroline could see tears threatening to spill from the other girl's dark eyes. Marlene left in a hurry and, not long afterwards, Caroline watched Phoebus Rowle get up from the Slytherin table and follow her. The sight of someone going after Marlene made Caroline feel slightly better, though no less guilty for not defending her friend better.

Turning back to the still-silent group, Caroline said, "You lot should be ashamed of yourselves."

"What?" Sirius demanded. "You can't be—"

"Marlene is our friend," Caroline pushed on, ignoring the indignant look her boyfriend gave her. "All she's doing is going on one date with a boy from Slytherin. They're not _betrothed_. This is not a commitment of any kind and lasts for exactly one night. So," Caroline raged, giving all of her friends a narrow-eyed look, "I find it completely ridiculous that you decided to shame her for something so trivial."

None of the group was able to formulate a proper response to such a strong verbal lashing. Instead, the table fell into another prolonged silence that lasted for the rest of lunch and well into the afternoon.

* * *

Later that evening, Caroline skipped dinner in favor of studying in the library. While she wasn't mad anymore about the treatment of Marlene earlier in the day, she had a lot of schoolwork to get through and being around Sirius wouldn't help her focus. She hoped that by skipping dinner she would be able to get a nice table to herself and spread out for a few hours.

Instead, she walked in to find a hoard of students occupying most of the tables in the library. _Where did all these people come from?_ She wondered as she scanned the large room for an open seat. She spotted one towards the back at a table occupied by one student, whose back was facing Caroline. Walking over quickly, she was about to set her stuff down when she realized the student at the table was Severus Snape.

Caroline had never felt particularly strong one way or the other about Snape—she knew he was intelligent and kept to himself, but the boy could also be arrogant and self-righteous. However, she knew that Snape violently hated Sirius and James—it was debatable which one the Slytherin student hated more—so Caroline was apprehensive about forcing her presence on him.

Moving with calculated precision, Caroline came to a stop at the chair diagonally placed from Snape and set her books down, eyeing the boy for some kind of reaction. Instead, he merely glanced up briefly before returning to his Potions book, which was falling apart and had ink writing all in the margins. Caroline took this as a sign that it was safe to sit down.

The two worked diagonally from one another for quite a while yet never acknowledged the other person's presence. However, as an hour passed and Snape's workload began to dwindle, Caroline noticed the way he started glancing at her more and more. Eventually it got to the point where he was just staring at her with those black, beady eyes of his, waiting for an opportunity to speak whatever was on his mind.

"Out with it," Caroline muttered, never looking up from her notes for Charms.

Snape startled a bit, eyes blinking rapidly for a moment before his face settled into a sneer. "That was quite the display in the Great Hall today," he jeered, referring to James's Yule ball proposal. "Potter's ego truly knows no bounds—now if only such hard work could be applied to his horrendous vocals."

Caroline shrugged. "I thought it was funny," she remarked with an airy voice. "Besides, he got what he wanted in the end—Lily said yes." Glancing up from her paper, she couldn't help but feel satisfied at the way Snape's sneer faded for a moment at the mention of Lily's acceptance.

"Yes, well, they clearly deserve each other if Evans enjoyed such a horrifying performance," Snape replied, crossing his arms stiffly in front of his chest. He was quiet for a moment before he suddenly smirked and added, "However, I particularly enjoyed Macdonald's humiliation of that mutt who follows Black and Potter around. I think if the floor swallowed him up in that instance, he would've been grateful."

Caroline understood this was all some sort of game for Snape, a chance to try and get a rise out of someone who was known for being icy. Refusing to give him any kind of satisfaction, she said, "Yes, Remus was quite embarrassed. Hopefully they'll have fun, though."

Snape huffed. "Let's just pray the ball doesn't take place on a full moon…" he mumbled under his breath.

Caroline's eyes flashed. "I hope you're enjoying this little game of yours," she murmured flatly.

"Game?" questioned Snape with a wide, crooked smile. "I have no idea what _game_ you're referring to, Grayson."

Leaning back in her chair, Caroline matched his defensive posture and stared him straight in the eye. "Yes, this game where you say nasty things about my friends to make me mad because you seem to be under the impression that upsetting me will comfort you over Lily's ultimate rejection of you and your feelings."

Snape froze, eyes becoming more clouded. "What?"

"Severus," Caroline stated, voice slightly breathy with exasperation and possibly sleep deprivation. "You lost any chance of being with Lily when you called her a mudblood. Insulting James and his friends won't change that fact—nothing will. Don't spend your entire life getting caught up in a fantasy where you are able to win Lily back through means of besting James Potter—it just won't happen."

She'd hoped that Snape would understand that her words were meant to be consoling rather than antagonistic, but things never did seem to go Caroline's way. Instead, Snape's face blazed with rage by the end of her little spiel, his mouth pulled into a tight line and his eyes glaring at her so darkly that hardly anything could be seen but pitch black.

"If you think I'm going to accept life advice from a certified head case, you are sadly mistaken," Snape hissed. "As if someone like you could ever understand the ins and outs of human behavior—you only started having friends, what, last week? But those aren't even your friends, are they? No, they're people who tolerate your presence that you have sadly mistaken as your friends."

Caroline kept her expression carefully neutral, but Snape had done quite a good job of hitting her right where it hurt. She may have read him like a book, but he'd returned the favor in kind—and quite cruelly, at that.

"And let's not even get into your little 'relationship' with Black," he continued on, not bothering to wait for Caroline to formulate some sort of response. "Black doesn't give a shit about anyone but himself. You are, at best, a good fuck for him that he'll get tired of and toss to the side when he's done. He'll chew you up and spit you out—good luck keeping all your little Gryffindor friends after _that_."

Caroline opened her mouth to respond, but Snape shook his head, holding up a hand to cut her off. "No," he snapped. "I am nowhere _near_ finished. Because, Grayson, the bottom line is that you are pathetic and nonessential. You're incapable of being loyal to your house, incapable of keeping any friends, and incapable of doing anything productive with your time. The only thing you seem to be good at is landing yourself in the Hospital Wing once a week." He paused and curled his lip up into a menacing sneer. "Even Madam Pomfrey can't figure out that fucked up head of yours, right?"

"Oi, Snivellus!" A voice roared from across the room.

Caroline glanced over Snape's shoulder to see Sirius marching into the library with his wand raised, stormy eyes locked on his nemesis's back. In a flash, Snape was on his feet and facing Sirius with his own wand raised for a fight. Both boys sized each other up as they prepared to attack. Caroline got up as well, moving to split up the fight.

" _Levicorpus_!" Sirius shouted.

Snape quickly blocked the levitating jinx with a Defensive Charm and retaliated with, " _Orbis_!"

Luckily for Sirius, Caroline saved him from being propelled into the ground by shouting, " _Protego_!" A magical shield appeared between the two boys to keep them from fighting.

However, the shield went up just as Sirius cast his own curse in return, " _Flipendo_!"

The spell ricocheted off the shield and hit Caroline directly in the chest, knocking her back into a large bookshelf behind her. A cascade of books came falling to the ground with Caroline and she hit the floor with a bang! Slowly pushing herself up, she winced at a sharp pain in her left wrist.

Sirius came rushing over and knelt down beside her. "Are you okay?" He asked frantically, reaching out to touch where her wrist was being cradled against her chest. When Caroline winced again, Sirius's face became riddled with guilt. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to—"

"I know," Caroline interrupted, reaching up with her right hand to stroke his cheek. "Let's just get out of here and see Pomfrey—she's probably missing me about now anyway, seeing as I haven't been hospitalized in a while." Her joke did little to lighten the mood, as it reminded both of them of the unfortunate amount of injuries and near-death experiences Caroline had experienced in this term alone.

Helping Caroline onto her feet, Sirius didn't even look at Snape as he grabbed his girlfriend's bag and hoisted it onto his shoulder. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, the two walked side-by-side out of the library and towards the Hospital Wing.

"I'm surprised Pince wasn't there to eviscerate both of you," Caroline commented idly as they walked. "Though she might've suffered some sort of heart failure at seeing me crash into a bookshelf."

Sirius scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, about that…I actually sent Pince on a bit of a wild goose chase around Hogwarts with some sort of 'library emergency'."

"What in the name of Merlin is a 'library emergency?'"

"I'm not really sure, but either way she bought it."

Later, after Pomfrey had given Caroline some potions for her fractured wrist and instructions to wait for her return, Sirius stared at the broken appendage for some time. Caroline could practically see the ocean of guilt the boy was slowly drowning himself in and reached out to touch his face again, snapping him out of any downward spiral of thoughts. He looked up from his place beside her, startled.

"You alright?" She asked. "Your mind seems to be a world away."

Sirius smiled at her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "I actually came to get you from the library for a reason," he said, tracing the lines of her palm with his forefinger. "I had a rather elaborate set up in the Room of Requirement, where I planned to ask you to go to the Yule ball with me."

"Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah," he chuckled. "I can't say you lying in a hospital bed is exactly how I pictured this whole thing going but…when has anything ever gone our way, right? So," he continued, moving to take both her hands—though the broken one a bit more gently—into his, "will you go with me? Even if I'm the horrible sod who put you in the Hospital Wing."

Caroline smiled and nodded. "Yes, I will go to the Yule ball with you—even if you are the horrible sod who put me in the Hospital Wing." She leaned in and the two shared a sweet kiss before being interrupted by a scuttle of footsteps indicating Pomfrey's return.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello, lovelies! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I just wanted to stop by here to say a huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and followed this story! I say this every time but it means a lot. It was especially motivating to read reviews after stepping away from this fic for so long and see that there are people out there enjoying my writing!**

 **Anyway, thanks again and please let me know what you thought of this chapter!**


	18. Ch 18: Oh! You Pretty Things

**Chapter 18: Oh! You Pretty Things**

* * *

The much-anticipated evening had finally arrived. Weeks of sighing over gowns and dreading the possibility of attending without a date had led to this momentous occasion: the Yule Ball.

It was early Saturday evening, the last Saturday before winter holidays, and Caroline found herself once again crammed into Gryffindor's seventh-year girls' dorm, pinned into a chair as Dorcas placed the finishing touches on her makeup for the evening. Dorcas preached the value of Muggle beauty methods as she found the long process of getting ready to be all the more enjoyable. Caroline debated how fun it truly was as another tilt of her head caused the curlers wrapped in her dark hair to pinch.

"Stop moving so much and the curlers would hurt less," chided Dorcas. She was already done up—hair straightened and slicked back into a tight Chignon, her dark eyes sparkling with gold eyeshadow. Leaning back to examine her hard work on Caroline's face, Dorcas nodded with a satisfied smile and grabbed a mirror, holding it up for Caroline to observe.

Caroline admired the other girl's handiwork with a wide grin. Her normally wide, azure eyes were sharpened by a dark smoky eyeshadow, but the rest of the face was kept simple and natural, just as Caroline would've asked had Dorcas accepted any kind of input.

"Beautiful job, Dorcas," Caroline said, laying down the mirror in her lap and wincing at the familiar stab of pain on her scalp. "Now if only you'd take these torture devices off my head."

Dorcas rolled her eyes. "Not happening. You've got to keep them in for another 20 minutes. Now move," she ordered, making a wide shooing motion with her hands. "I've got to do Mary's makeup next."

Giving her friend one last pouting look, Caroline stood up and moved to sit on a bed where Lily was. The redhead had practiced and perfected a cosmetic spell she learned from a Hufflepuff prefect, which she was now using to curl sections of her copper locks. Caroline eyed the process a bit enviously.

"You should've known what would happen when you asked Dorcas to help do your hair and makeup," Lily chided with a smile, waving her wand in a circular motion as she curled another section of hair.

" _Asked?_ " Caroline laughed. "When has Dorcas ever let me do _anything_ on my own?"

"With good reason!" The girl in question piped up, turning to give her best friend a knowing look. "Now shut it or I'll permanently stick those curlers to your head."

Caroline mimed zipping her lips shut, locking them, and throwing away the key.

Glancing over to the left, she noticed the way Marlene had kept fairly quiet the whole time. This was rather unusual behavior, seeing as the dark-haired beauty tended to be the life of the party in all situations. Furthermore, she had chosen to sit in the far-right corner of the room, hunched over a mirror with her back to everyone else. Caroline watched the way Marlene determinedly picked through the bag of makeup sitting next to her, despite the fact she'd been finished with her makeup for nearly 20 minutes.

She got up from her place on the bed—the rest of the girls didn't notice, too caught up in Mary's retelling of some funny incident from Potions class the other day—and moved to sit down on the floor beside Marlene. The other girl looked over at her curiously but, otherwise, said barely acknowledged her presence.

"I was wondering…" began Caroline cautiously, quite aware of the fact Marlene was currently clutching a sharp pair of tweezers that could be transformed into a formidable weapon. "How did you and Phoebus meet? He's always seemed so…reserved to me."

A wave of relief washed over Caroline when, instead of rebuffing her attempts at making conversation, Marlene smiled fondly and rolled her eyes. "Yes, he's not much of a talker—especially in big groups of people." She placed the tweezers down and turned to face Caroline more fully, taking a moment to nervously glance at the others. "We met in the library, actually."

"The _library_?" Much like Sirius, Marlene never had a reputation for being particularly academically inclined.

Rolling her eyes, Marlene explained, "I was in the library trying to do some Transfiguration homework and making no attempts to hide my frustration with the class. I guess I was making enough of a scene that Phoebus noticed and came over to offer his help."

At Caroline's raised eyebrow, she added, "I was suspicious at first, but he gave me a few pointers and we started talking and…" Marlene shrugged weakly.

"But…" Caroline murmured. "Isn't Phoebus a year below us? How did he know how to help you?"

"He's a bit of a swot—always reading ahead and eager to learn as much as he can. I keep telling him he belongs in Ravenclaw," she said, turning to look back in her mirror. With a wave of her wand, Marlene began taking pieces of curled hair and pinning them neatly to her head.

Caroline watched the process for a moment, unsure of what else to say. She wanted to let Marlene know that she wasn't alone—that she wouldn't allow her to be ostracized for fancying a Slytherin boy. However, she was keenly aware of the other girl's abhorrence for emotional displays—it might do more harm than good to say what she felt outright.

"Thank you," Marlene said, freeing Caroline of her intense musings.

"For what?"

As the last curl was pinned in place for Marlene's elaborate updo, the two girls met eyes in the mirror—warm brown clashing with icy blue. "For letting me talk about Phoebus without any judgment or sour looks. I really appreciate it."

Caroline blushed, eyes flicking down to the floor. "No problem," she replied.

Marlene cleared her throat and returned her focus to her own reflection, reaching up to pull loose a few strands of curled hair to frame her heart-shaped face. "How's your dad?" She asked.

The mention of her father was like a shock to Caroline's system, her entire body tensing up as though bracing herself for a sharp blow. Taking in a deep breath through her nose, Caroline willed her heart to slow down from its galloping pace and exhaled as steadily as she could manage.

Her father's trial had occurred the previous week and Caroline was still getting over the fact that her parents hadn't allowed her to attend. She'd understood her father's concerns—she'd privately wondered, during an evening rendezvous with Sirius, if seeing her father in such a state would be too much for her to handle emotionally. Yet receiving only second-hand accounts of the trial didn't do nearly enough to satisfy her. Caroline wanted to know her father's case inside and out; she wanted to be able to recount every detail in her sleep. It was an issue of control for her, so being forced to only witness from afar was particularly difficult for Caroline to accept.

"The Wizengamot is still deliberating," Caroline stated carefully, taking care to keep her voice light and airy. Rather than delve into a blow-by-blow analysis of the trial, she simply said, "Mum and I are hopeful for his safe return any day now."

Truthfully, the longer the Wizengamot took to deliver a verdict, the less hope she and her mother had. Not for fear of her father being pronounced guilty—there was virtually no proof of Demetrius collaborating with You-Know-Who in any way. Instead, Caroline feared how much longer her father could stand being kept in Azkaban with only fellow prisoners and Dementors for company. Such conditions did little to alleviate one's already fragile mental state.

Marlene nodded her head. "I'm sure he'll be back at home in no time."

Upholding her serene front, Caroline smiled briefly and curved her head to the right demurely. Her eyes fell onto the large bay window beside her, which overlooked Hogwarts' grounds. The sun was setting behind the mountain range, shades of bright orange and red breaking up the gray-toned, winter sky. Large chunks of snow had been falling since midday, covering the ground in a thick layer of puffy white flakes. It reminded Caroline of Christmas in the Alps with her mother or teaching Ellie how to make a snow angel for the first time. The swirls of white flying through the air made Caroline think of her family and how much she longed to be with them right now.

"Alright, Care," Dorcas announced loudly, startling her friend. "Time to take out the curlers."

Pasting on a wide grin, Caroline pushed herself up onto her feet and sighed, "Thank Merlin!"

* * *

Caroline shifted nervously from one foot to another as she stood at the top of the grand staircase that led to the doors of the Great Hall. The world around her was buzzing with activity as students found their dates and made their way down the steps, some smiling radiantly while others fought to contain a chagrined wince. She kept herself pressed up against a stone wall, pressing her palms against it to keep from fidgeting with her dress.

Despite her knotted stomach and restless fingers, Caroline still felt beautiful in her gown. The thin straps accentuated the curve of her shoulders while the bodice pressed tightly against her ribcage to emphasize the slim shape of her waist. The skirts billowed out in waves of crimson silk, reminiscent of the princess gowns Caroline had adored as a girl. Her hair was kept simple, falling down her back in large curls, with a few smaller pieces pulled forward to frame her face.

She kept glancing over at the people moving down the steps, trying to find the person she was so desperately waiting for.

"They better not be late," Mary grumbled from beside her, fluffing the pink tulle of her gown in an attempt to entertain herself.

Lily, who was on Caroline's other side, rolled her eyes. "The Yule Ball hasn't even started yet, Mary," she reminded their friend.

The three girls had ended up standing at this spot together after Dorcas and Marlene were both stolen away by their dates. The former had barely contained a toothy grin at the way Kieran Murphy had almost fallen over when he'd spotted her. Marlene had seen Phoebus and gone to him, taking care not to look back at her friends as she did so. (Though Caroline was happy to note that some of the tension in Marlene's shoulders eased once she joined Phoebus.)

This left Lily, Caroline, and Mary standing alone on the platform, listlessly waiting for their Marauder dates. Again, Caroline's stomach tightened uncomfortably and she took in a few deep breaths to ease her nerves. She didn't know why the prospect of seeing Sirius made her so nervous—they spent practically every moment of every day together, what made tonight any different?

She wanted his approval, she realized with a bit of a start. She wanted Sirius to look at her, as done up as she's ever been, and have a reaction similar to Murphy's when he saw Dorcas. For once, she wanted to feel desired for the way she looked, as narcissistic and primitive as that may be.

"There they are!" Mary said, pointing to their right.

Caroline glanced over and saw three of the Marauders—Peter was nowhere to be seen—approaching from the direction of Gryffindor Tower. They were all wearing similar style dress robes, clean cut suits that broadened their shoulders and made them look much more mature than they actually were. She noted that James had made some sort of attempt to tame his unruly inky locks, though the sporadic pieces sticking out indicated it was a futile effort.

As the boys approached, she locked eyes with Sirius and swooned a bit herself. His robes were obviously tailored perfectly to fit his lean figure, tight in all the right places, but the sharp look of his suit was contrasted by the wild mane of curls on his head. She watched the way Sirius tucked one of those curls behind his ear and found herself fighting the urge to run her hands through them.

When Sirius finally saw her, Caroline couldn't help but preen at the way his eyes widened slightly before roving slowly up and down her body. There was a liquid heat in his gaze, the kind of warmth that made something inside her turn to molten lava. She could feel a slight flush coming to her cheeks as that heated look locked with hers, blushing even more when Sirius winked at her.

To calm herself, Caroline glanced over at the others and almost laughed out loud to see James had stopped in the middle of his approach upon seeing Lily. His eyes were as wide as saucers, his jaw dropped to the floor, as he took in the gorgeous emerald dress she had on, lingering on her cinched-in waist.

Lily seemed pleased by his attention, smirking as she stepped towards him and said, "Something the matter, Potter?"

"I—yes…I mean, no! It's—it's…yeah," James stuttered back, cognitive function becoming a bit too much for him. Part of Caroline was waiting for smoke to start coming out of his ears.

Sirius came to a stop beside Caroline, reaching out to brush the back of her hand with his fingers. "Hello," he murmured.

That one word sent a shiver down Caroline's spine. "Hello," she replied, just as quiet, moving a few steps closer so that they were only a few inches apart.

"You look…" Sirius trailed off, his gaze moving up and down her at that same steady pace. She could feel his eyes tracing over every crack and crevice of her body, cataloging the information for himself. "You look absolutely breath-taking," he finished, voice a bit hoarser than before.

Caroline's smile was blindingly bright. "You clean up pretty good yourself," she complimented. "Though, your hair seems to be as much of a mess as ever." She reached up a hand and gently brushed over the ends of his hair, tangling her fingers in them.

"Merlin, please don't start shagging in the middle of the staircase," James groaned, rubbing a hand over his face.

The heated moment from before was gone and Caroline turned to give the spectacled boy a narrow-eyed glare as she let go of Sirius's hair and took a step back, putting a respectable amount of space between them. She was slightly comforted by the equally vicious look Sirius sent his friend's way as they parted, feeling a thrill that he was as annoyed by the interruption as her.

"Come on, Potter," Lily said, threading her arm through his and pulling him towards the stairs. "Let's leave these lovebirds alone so you can show me those epic dance moves you've been bragging about for weeks."

"Er…yeah, about that…" James began, scratching the back of his head. Caroline didn't hear the rest of his attempt to get out of dancing as the pair made their way down the stairs and into the Great Hall.

Caroline turned to look back at the only other couple left, Remus and Mary. The former was standing stiffly beside his date, clearly unsure of what to do with himself as he shifted from foot to foot. Mary, on the other hand, was almost vibrating with excitement as she grabbed Remus's arm in much the same way Lily had done to James (though with a much greater amount of gusto, based on Remus's pained expression).

"Let's go, Remus!" Mary declared, practically dragging a boy that was probably twice her size down the stairs and towards the Great Hall.

This left Sirius and Caroline standing alone on the stairs, watching as the last of the students made their way into the hall.

"Well," Sirius said, turning to Caroline with a smirk, "guess we'd better follow their lead—though I'd prefer if you didn't drag me quite so…enthusiastically."

She chuckled. "No promises."

Lacing her arm through his, Caroline allowed Sirius to lead her down the staircase, her heels clicking lightly against them. She felt that tight knot of tension in her stomach ease gradually with each step she took and subconsciously leaned a bit more firmly into the warmth of Sirius's body pressed close to hers.

Upon stepping down from the stairs, they wasted no time lingering in the corridor before they stepped through the large, open doors of the Great Hall. The spacious room had been transformed into something of a winter paradise. The walls were covered in a thin sheath of ice, reflecting light across all sides of the room. The floors had turned a more subdued, dark blue to match the hues of the walls, and small round tables sat close to the edges of the room in place of the normal house tables. At the head of the room, where the faculty table usually stood, was a large stage covered by a white sheet of fabric upon which a small orchestra stood, preparing to play.

Caroline glanced around the room in wonder, eyes flicking to the enormous Christmas tree to the left of the stage, covered in red and white ornaments as well as silver tinsel. Overhead, the rafters of the ceiling had been wrapped in garland with similar red and white accessories attached—the same garland was also draped across the front of the stage.

Glancing to her right, Caroline spotted Lily and James laughing beside an overflowing refreshments table, glasses of punch in their hands. Sirius had apparently seen them as well, pulling her in the couple's direction before she could open her mouth.

"Well, well," James said as they approached, grinning smugly. "Look who decided to finally come up for air."

Caroline and Lily shared a knowing look before the former, who was closest to James, turned and punched him in the arm.

"Ouch!" James exclaimed, rubbing where her fist had no doubt left a mark. "Padfoot, I don't know why you put up with her—she's so mean to me!"

"That's why I keep her around," Sirius replied, turning to smile brightly at Caroline as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side.

She rolled her eyes, though the motion was offset by her equally blinding grin. "Being my date doesn't protect you from getting a punch, too," she reminded him.

"Even if she doesn't want to punch you, I will," Lily piped up, taking a sip from her glass. She made a face, pulling back to give her beverage an assessing glance. "Something's off about the punch," she said, sniffing the contents of the glass. "It tastes odd."

Caroline held out her hand and the redhead placed the glass into her friend's grasp, watching as she took a sip of it. Almost immediately, Caroline identified what was in the punch: Firewhiskey.

Turning to look at her date, Caroline found Sirius intently examining his shoes. Hazarding a glance to her right, she saw James doing much of the same thing and knew her guess was right.

"Sirius Orion Black," she said, voice low and intimidating. She tried not to think about how much she sounded like her own mother.

"Yes, my darling Caroline?" He asked, gray eyes flicking up from the floor to meet her icy blue gaze. When his words didn't soften the glare on her face, he continued, "Light of my life? Goddess divine? Fire to my—"

His endless, sickening compliments were cut off as Caroline reached up and grabbed his ear in much the same way she'd seen McGonagall do over the years and pulled, bringing the boy down to her eye level. "Did you or did you not spike the punch, Sirius?"

"You know you're quite sexy when you—Ow!" He shouted as Caroline twisted his ear a bit harder. Eyes scrunching closed in pain, he confessed, "Alright, fine! We did it! Now, will you please let _go_?"

As Caroline released her hold on him, Lily whirled around on James and asked, " _We?_ "

"Well, you see, Lily darling," James began, clearly not learning from his mate's own mistakes about trying to use endearments to lessen a woman's rage.

"You are Head Boy, James!" Lily hissed, green eyes flaring brightly. "You should know better than this."

"It was just a little prank," Sirius cut in, trying to help out his friend. "We've been really good so far, Lily, can't you let us have this one freebie?

Caroline pinched the bridge of her nose. "Sirius, I swear to Merlin I will not protect you if Lily decides to hex you into oblivion," she muttered. Turning to look at Lily, she added, "You get to have the honor of disciplining _your_ Marauder now since I've spent basically the entirety of term policing Sirius—"

" _Policing_ me?"

"But don't be afraid to rough him up a little," Caroline added with a mischievous curl of her lips as she grabbed Sirius's arm and none-too-gently dragged him over to where the large punch bowl sat.

"What about Moony?" Sirius demanded. "Who's controlling him? He helped us!"

Painting on an indignant look to hide her growing amusement, Caroline said, "Remus doesn't need a keeper like you two. He would never lower himself to such juvenile behavior."

" _Juve_ —it was _his_ bloody idea!"

The ruse was worth seeing Sirius's face becoming flushed a dark shade of red and a vein began popping out on the side of his neck as he ranted and raved. Caroline was unable to keep her blank expression in place any longer and let out a loud peal of laughter. Clutching at her sides, she gasped for air in between bouts of laughter, which were only made worse by Sirius's visible realization that he'd been played.

"Oh, Merlin," she panted, still chuckling as she wiped the tears from her eyes. No doubt Dorcas would scold her later for ruining her "masterpiece" so early on, but it was worth it.

"Very funny," Sirius muttered mulishly, crossing his arms over his chest as his bottom lip pushed out in what can only be described as a pout.

Caroline smiled and stepped closer to him, placing her hands on his arm as she leaned up and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. She felt his stiff stance ease under her touch and leaned back to find him smiling down at her.

"So, does this mean I'm off the hook?"

Huffing, Caroline rolled her eyes again and pushed him towards the punch. "Not likely. Fix the punch, Sirius, there are fourth years here."

Sirius did as he was told, pulling out his wand to fix the damage that had been done, though not before childishly muttering under his breath, "I had my first drink when I was a second year."

Caroline decided to let that little revelation lie and waited for him to finish, glancing around the room. No one seemed to have paid much attention to their little showdown, though perhaps that was because nothing she could do would phase anyone at this point. She noticed Professor Slughorn was rather close by, swaying slightly on his feet despite the fact that no music was playing. Her eyes caught the rather full glass of punch in her hands and bit back a smile as she wondered exactly how many glasses of Sirius's _special_ punch the professor had imbibed.

"There," Sirius stated, turning back to face her. "The punch is now 100 percent kid-friendly. A baby could drink it."

"Good," Caroline said, crossing her arms over her chest and turning away from him with a light _hmph_! A swell of stringed instruments carried over to them as the band began to play their first song, an upbeat waltz that drew couples onto the dance floor.

Caroline could see Sirius out of the corner of her eye, glancing rapidly between her annoyed expression and the dancing couples. She considered taking pity on him and confessing that she wasn't truly upset with him but then decided that causing her boyfriend some amount of distress was a better idea.

A few feet away from them, Lily and James seemed to be in a similar predicament—the redhead looked peevish and tight-lipped to most, but the slight uptick at the corner of her mouth indicated to Caroline that she was enjoying watching James pull his hair out over how to please her.

"So…" Sirius drawled, pulling her attention to him. He tried to look cool and collected, but Caroline saw the uneasiness in his stormy eyes. "Do you want to dance?"

Tapping her chin thoughtfully, Caroline finally allowed herself to show the amusement she'd been suppressing as she replied, equally slow, "I'm not sure I can condone dancing with such a prominent delinquent."

Sirius's mouth dropped open slightly, outrage etched all over his face. "You—you little—" He exclaimed, too shocked to form a coherent sentence.

Caroline smiled impishly, biting her lip. "Me," she agreed with a giggle. She began laughing harder when Sirius huffed and grabbed her by the arm, dragging her towards the dance floor. She could hear him muttering something along the lines of, "Can't believe I fell for that twice," as they made their way across the room.

He spun her around to face him and the two fell into a steady waltz along with the rest of the couples. As they both came from pureblood upbringings (or, in Caroline's case, a _partially_ pureblood upbringing), both were well-trained in the art of dance. With her hand tucked carefully into Sirius's and her other placed firmly on his shoulder, Caroline followed her date's lead, her heeled feet lightly flowing through the steps she'd known since she was a child.

They swept through the motions fluidly, rippling through the crowd of couples like the ocean tide ebbing and flowing across a warm, sandy beach. Caroline's dark tresses swept back and forth against her back in time with their motions, a beautiful extension of her graceful movements.

Caroline and Sirius locked eyes, each one expressing the same thrilling emotion that neither one was willing to express out loud. In that brief moment, the world around them melted away and it was just the two of them, swirling across an icy dance floor to a song they no longer could hear. The weight normally carried on their shoulders was lifted, allowing Caroline to take in an easy breath for the first time in months. Gone were her worries of what tomorrow might bring—for now, she felt safe in the sweet embrace of Sirius's strong arms.

Yet, just as quickly as this moment came, it was gone. Broken by the sound of clapping around them as the band finished their song and moved onto another. Caroline and Sirius came to a stop on the dance floor, both feeling strangely sad that their dance was done.

The band's next song was much slower and a bit melancholic, the notes causing something dark to twist inside Caroline's chest. Somehow the violin section made their instruments sound as though they were weeping, soft and forlorn. The sound made Caroline want to cry herself.

Sirius, without a word, pulled her closer into his arms so that she was pressed against his chest, hands coming to fall against her waist. In return, Caroline wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her face on his shoulder.

"I promise you'll get through this," he murmured quietly into her ear. "Your dad _will_ be found innocent. I know he will."

Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes and Caroline turned to tuck her face into his neck, hiding the emotional display from the rest of the world. "You don't know that," she whispered back, voice catching. "No one does."

"He's done nothing wrong, Caroline," he said, tightening his hold on her. "We just have to believe that justice will prevail—and then your mother can have the pleasure of kicking the arses of every Auror in the Ministry for letting this whole thing happen in the first place."

That managed to bring a small smile onto her face as she relished in the mental image of her mum attacking a group of unsuspecting idiots. "I know you're right," she said, voice a bit stronger. "But I can't stop thinking of him in that horrid place—cold and alone, harassed by Dementors and fellow inmates. Even when he's let go, it won't erase the time he spent in Azkaban."

"I'm sorry, love," Sirius murmured, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of her head. There was nothing else he could say to that—everyone knew about the conditions prisoners experienced in Azkaban. However, few found it in themselves to care, as the prison was meant for those they considered to be the scum of the earth. Why should a law-fairing witch or wizard concern themselves with the conditions of criminals?

They continued to sway to the music in silence after that, content to hold one another. Caroline turned her head again to see Lily and James in a similar position across the dance floor, obviously having made up. She watched the way James seemed to be staring down at the witch in his arms in a way that could only be described as awestruck.

Idly, Caroline wondered if Sirius ever looked at her that way.

Eventually, the song ended and a faster one immediately replaced it. Caroline and Sirius pulled away from one another, albeit reluctantly.

"Want to sit down for a bit?" Sirius offered, watching the way his girlfriend's shoulders seemed to slump.

"Yeah," she replied, threading her arm through his.

They walked over to one of the round tables against the wall, luckily finding it empty, and sat down. Though they were in separate chairs, Caroline didn't let go of her hold on Sirius, instead sliding her hand down to thread her fingers through his.

"I want to change it," she said suddenly, garnering Sirius's attention.

"Change what?"

"The justice system," she explained, her eyes taking on a spark he hadn't seen since her father's arrest. "I want to reform it. The way my father was treated has really opened my eyes to how corrupt the Ministry's legal system is."

Sirius's brows furrowed. "I mean, they definitely did wrong by your dad, but what's wrong with the whole system?"

"It's inhumane!" Caroline threw her free hand up for emphasis. "In the Muggle world, you have rights, even as a suspect and prisoner. The right to a lawyer, for example. My father was able to procure one for himself last minute, but what about poorer defendants? How can the system be fair if the process for defending oneself isn't?"

Sirius considered her words. He'd never stopped to think about the fairness of Wizarding law. Whenever some criminal was brought in and sentenced, he'd only ever thought, "Good riddance." Yet, now having seen the case of an innocent man being treated so unfairly, he wondered if Caroline was right.

Taking his thoughtful silence as acceptance, she pressed on, "And the conditions of Azkaban! I understand wanting murderers to be put in some dank whole where they can't hurt anyone, but that doesn't mean we should relish in their suffering. Or use creatures— _Dementors_ —that specifically try and make prisoners lose their minds! It's disgusting."

Caroline saw this was where their agreement on Wizarding law would end, as Sirius shifted uncomfortably in his seat and refused to meet her gaze. Sighing, she tried to calm down a bit before continuing, "Bottom line is, when I graduate, I want to study Wizarding laws and figure out ways to change them—improve them so that the system won't be so broken anymore."

Sirius smiled, reaching over to pull her against his side. Pressing another firm kiss to her head, he added, "I think that's a great idea, love."

"Really?"

"Absolutely," he assured her. His encouragement was rewarded with a soft kiss, which quickly deepened into something more passionate as his tongue traced the seam of her lips and she opened her mouth to let him in. Caroline moved to the edge of her seat, hands moving to grip the roots of Sirius's hair firmly as her tongue pressed against his. When her fingers tugged lightly at his ebony locks, Sirius let out a low moan that set her blood on fire.

 _I'll never get tired of this feeling_ , she thought.

"Ahem!" An all-too-familiar voice cut in, causing the couple to pull apart. James stood in front of them, arms crossed over his chest and glaring down at them in much the same way Caroline thought a parent would. "I thought we already went over why shagging in public is wrong."

Behind him, Lily looked more amused by the couple's display than annoyed like James. "C'mon, let them have fun," she said, poking her date's side. "Besides, boys who spike the punch don't get to deliver lectures on responsibility."

James grinned. "Oh, yeah," he said, as though he'd forgotten why Lily had been so furious earlier. "Carry on, then."

The Head Boy and Girl left them alone, disappearing into the crowd of students who were clustered near the band's stage. Caroline glared at James's retreating back, flopping back into her chair.

"He sure knows how to ruin a moment, doesn't he?" She muttered mulishly, leaning away from Sirius as the heat of their kiss was effectively snuffed out by James. Glancing over at the boy in question, she found her date staring at her and shifted uncomfortably under his unyielding gaze. "What?"

"You're bloody gorgeous," he breathed out, almost unintentionally.

Those few words managed to ignite that raging fire in her stomach and Caroline turned her eyes away from Sirius's to try and calm the blush that was no doubt burning across her ivory cheeks. Likewise, Sirius shook his head as though breaking himself from a trance and sat up a bit straighter.

"What are you doing during the holidays?" Sirius asked suddenly, causing Caroline to tear her eyes away from the dancing figures across the room.

"Nothing particularly exciting," she murmured, biting her bottom lip. "Though…it is my birthday on the 26th," she added almost nervously. "I understand if you're busy that day, but…"

Catching on, Sirius smiled widely and said, "I would love to visit you on your birthday—or any day, really." Winking slyly, he continued, "I'm not sure if you know this, but I'm rather hopelessly gone on you."

"Is that so?" She inquired cheekily, a sharp smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Yeah," he said, sighing. "Moony says I'm rather difficult to be around when you're not there—pining like some character out of a romance novel."

Caroline chuckled, gently knocking her shoulder against his. "I never knew Remus had such a fondness for romance novels."

Sirius laughed loudly, throwing his head back joyfully. "Merlin, the look on Moony's face if he heard you say that would be worth any birthday or Christmas present I could possibly receive."

Eyebrows knitted together, Caroline had a bit of an epiphany. "Sirius," she began. "When _is_ your birthday?"

There was a long pause, during which Sirius awkwardly scratched at the back of his neck. "Well, love, the thing is…" he began, eyeing the room as though one of his Marauder friends might pop up and save him from this conversation.

"Sirius," Caroline chuckled, rolling her eyes. "This isn't meant to be a difficult question."

He sighed. "Well…it kind of already happened? It was November 3rd."

Caroline let out an outraged shriek and immediately reached out to punch her date's shoulder. As he cried out in response, she said, "Why the bloody hell didn't I hear about this? I can't believe you let me miss your birthday!"

"Well, there was a lot going on at that time, if you'll remember, and we'd just gotten together, so I honestly forgot about it," he tried to deflect, hand still rubbing where her boney knuckles had no doubt left a bruise.

She huffed, crossing her arms. "Forgive me if I find it hard to believe that the bloody Marauders let their friend's birthday pass with no form of celebration."

"That's exactly what happened! I was so happy about us finally getting our act together that I really couldn't care less about another damn birthday."

Caroline eyed him suspiciously, scanning her boyfriend for any sign that he might be lying—or, as he might've dubbed it, stretching the truth. He withstood her examination, though Sirius did shift the arm she'd hit slightly away from her, should she decide to strike again.

"Relax, Sirius, I'm not going to hit you again," Caroline told him, fighting a smile at the way his shoulders visibly loosened. "However, as penance for letting me miss such a momentous occasion, you will be celebrating your birthday with me over winter holidays. It is mandatory—not skiving off this time."

Sirius gave her a lopsided grin and raised his hand to administer a two-fingered salute. "Yes, ma'am."

Nodding her head, Caroline leaned in and pressed her lips against his in a brief, sweet kiss. It filled her up with a giddy kind of joy that, when they pulled apart, forced the corners of her lips upwards into a bright smile. She could feel the shining light of her own happiness pushing through like bubbles in a bottle of champagne and knew that her expression was no doubt the soppiest sort of glowing delight.

"C'mon," she ordered, pushing up onto her feet. "You owe me another dance."

Sirius, grinning as widely as she was, stood up and reached out to intertwine his fingers with hers, gently pulling her out onto the dance floor where their friends awaited. As the two spent the rest of the evening dancing until their feet ached, everyone was blissfully unaware of the darkness looming at the edges of their lives, threatening to consume them.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello, everyone! Hope you enjoyed this long-awaited update.** **I left things on a bit of a dark note there, as we're now getting into the thick of the first war and shit's about to get real. The next chapter will take on a decidedly more angsty tone, so be prepared for that!**

 **As always, thank you to everyone who favorites, follows, and - especially - reviews! It's so encouraging to know that there are people out there who enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!**


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